Cast Away
by Gryffindor-Gal79
Summary: When her life takes an unexpected twist, Ginny turns to Draco Malfoy for comfort. After losing her best friend, and the respect of students, Ginny feels like she has no where else to go. Chapter 21, was it all a lie?
1. Unnoticed

Cast Away

~* Welcome everyone, to my eighth fiction I am posting at FF.net. This one will include italics, bold, and answers to reviews at the end of chapters! I hope Cast Away will be as successful as my other fictions! It is based on a song (but not a songfic) that one of my close friends wrote, it's a very good song! *~ 

****

Chapter 1 – Unnoticed 

__

Sadness fills my heart, when I think about my life

Always lonely and ashamed, unsure of what is right

How could there be anyone who sees me for me?

I am different I know, I cannot change anything

Fantasies are people dreaming, I know my blessed pride

Finding someone who loves me for who I truly am

How could there be anyone who sees me for me?

I am different I know, I cannot change anything

Time has passed, I have to move on

To a place afar where dreams come true

How could there be anyone who sees me for me?

I am different I know, why can't you see? 

Why can't you see?

I will cast away from here

Never knowing what life will be for me

I will sing to the stars and skies above

Hope to find me the one

Who loves me for me 

And not a mask

Ginny Weasley sighed and set down her quill. There was no way she would get that homework finished before the night ended. She flopped back on her bed, and picked up her novel, _Reunion_, by Rory O'Donnell. It was a book about Australian indigenous culture, a subject of interest to Ginny since she was young. The novel was battered and worn. Ginny had scavenged enough money to buy it from a second hand store. 

Ginny, about to enter her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a short, skinny redhead with many freckles. She went un-noticed through most of her Hogwarts years, with the small exception of her incident in first year with Tom Riddle. Under-appreciated. No one really knew Ginny for who she was. 

Ron's head appeared at the door to Ginny's tiny room. She looked up from the sentence she was reading and acknowledged her older brother's presence. Ron's eyes drifted to the book Ginny was reading. 

'What's that you've got there?' He asked. 

'Oh, nothing.' Ginny said, trying her hardest to move the book out of Ron's view, but he had already seen it so it was no use. 

'Ginny, you know that we struggle to pay for things, you shouldn't buy stuff when the money could go to your school supplies.' Ron said in an older brother tone. Ginny looked ready to cry. Ron didn't understand her. 

'It's something I'm fascinated by,' Ginny said, then as an after thought added, 'something besides all the things we learn at Hogwarts.' 

'You should know better.' Ron said, when Ginny did not reply, he continued. 'Anyway, Harry and Hermione are coming here tomorrow, and then we're all going to number 12 Grimmauld Place for the rest of the holidays, so pack okay?' 

'Sure, why not.' Ginny sighed, and Ron nodded and disappeared from view. Not wanting to leave her Australian world, Ginny picked up the novel and continued to read _Reunion_. In her novel, which she had read five times, she could escape the harsh reality of which she lived in. 

__

Evelyn's bare feet pounded the ground as she sprinted away, not wanting the white hunters to capture her. They had been hunting her and her people for a few months, and it was only a matter of time before they captured her and caged her like the animal they thought she was. They did not see a soul, all they saw was dirty skin. Evelyn only hoped her young sister and mother had found a path to safety. Her father had been taken a few years back, captured and chained, sent away to be a slave. Her own destiny. She hated them. Life was unfair. The white people had come and conquered her land long ago. Evelyn and her family were forced to live as fugitives, not knowing when the white hunters would come for her.

Ginny set the book down. She loved that book more than anything she could think of, but decided it would be best for her to start packing before Harry and Hermione arrived. Ginny knew they pitied her, she hated pity. 

She rummaged through her closet until she finally came across the item which she was searching for, her trunk. Ginny was a smart girl, who realised that they would go straight from Grimmauld Place to Kings Cross Station where they would board the Hogwarts Express. 

In her trunk, Ginny packed her few items of muggle clothing, her Hogwarts Robes and uniform, all her school supplies and books which she had bought from Diagon Alley a few days ago, and anything else she could think of that she may need, including toiletries.

When Ginny had finished packing, and was just about to get back to her novel, when Ron entered her room. He just walked in, not bothering to knock. Ginny found that rather rude, but she said nothing. 

'Ginny, dinner's ready.' Ron said, looking around for the novel, possibly wanting to get a look at what it was about. 

'I'm coming.' Ginny said impatiently. 

'No need to be rude, Ginny, I was only telling you what mum told me to.' Ron said defensively. 

'Okay, I'll be down in a minute.' Ron left her room in a huff. Ginny hated climbing and descending those stairs. They were creaky, steep, and there were a lot of them, but she forced herself up and down them atleast ten times a day. Oh how she hated her room being up so high. Ginny made up her mind to ask her parents if they could take off the top levels of their house to make it only double story. This shouldn't be much of a problem since the only Weasley children left living at The Burrow were Ron and herself. 

Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs, and headed into the kitchen where the dining table was set up. She took her seat across from Ron and next to her father. The Weasley household was rather empty since Fred, George and Percy left, so they all were looking forward to having Harry and Hermione, even if it was only for a few hours before they all went off to Grimmauld Place. 

As they were eating, Ginny worked up the courage to ask her parents to make their house considerably smaller. 

'Mum, dad,' Ginny began, three sets of eyes turned to watch Ginny. 

'Yes dear?' Molly Weasley replied. 

'I was just – um, wondering if we could make our house smaller? I mean, since only four of us live her and all, and it gets tiring all that walking up and down stairs all the way to the top when we could be on the second floor.' 

'Say, that's not such a bad idea, I mean, why bother having a large house when only four people live in it?' Ron cut in. Mrs Weasley looked hassled. 

'Molly dear, the children have a point.' Arthur Weasley said. 'Why do we have such a large and unstable house with only four people living in it?' 

'Oh, oh dear.' Molly said, somewhat troubled by the idea of her house being shrunken from it's normal height. 

'Mum, just think, you wouldn't have to do as much cleaning, and it wouldn't take long seeing as you and dad can do magic to get the job done.' Ron said. Ginny had somehow been excluded from this conversation, but she was used to it, so she just sat there and ate her mashed potato. 

'I guess you have a point, Ron dear, thank-you for bringing it up.' Molly said, smiling at her son. Ginny sighed on the inside, _the poor un-noticed Weasley girl_, she got that a lot. Her own mother didn't even realise she was sitting at the same table as her, let alone living in the same house. 

'So we should get busy tomorrow morning when dear Harry and Hermione arrive shall we?' Arthur said chirpily. 'They can help if they would like.' 

'Can I help too, seeing as it was _my _idea?' Ginny asked, half annoyed, half hopeful that she would be allowed to help. Molly and Arthur exchanged glances, and Ginny didn't even bother waiting for an answer, this always meant _no, you're too young Ginny_. Ginny was getting very tired of that, of those looks which her parents exchanged that clearly meant just that. Exclusion. Ginny felt like taking that word out of the dictionary. 

'Sorry Ginny, you're too young.' Molly said soothingly, but Ginny was long beyond listening. She quickly finished her dinner, eager to get back upstairs and escape once again into her world of Australian Culture. Just as Ginny was about to leave the table, she got called back by her mother. 

'Ginny, we're having family time in the den, so don't go away.' 

Ginny groaned. There was nothing she hated more than _family time_. When more of her brothers lived at home it wasn't so bad, but since it was only her and Ron, she seemed to be ignored even more. Ginny made her way into the den and sat on a faded, tearing lounge chair. Getting comfortable, she knew that she would be there for a long time, listening to Ron and her parents talk about his OWL results. Ron's letter from Hogwarts had come this morning telling him his OWLS. Ginny hadn't had the chance to ask him how many he got, but she was sure he wouldn't have gotten as many as Percy, or as little as Fred and George. 

Ron soon joined her. He sat on the large three seat lounge which was also faded and torn. Ginny was sure that her parents would sit beside Ron and forget about her completely like they always did. Ron looked at her with a blank expression on his face. 

'They're going to talk to me about my OWLS, I know they are.' Ron said sadly. 

'How many did you get?' Ginny asked. 

'Five.' Ron replied simply. 

'Oh? That's not too bad.' Ginny said, trying to be supportive of her brother's efforts. 

'I don't think it's the results mum and dad were expecting from me though.' Ron said. 

'Oh. Do you get to stay a Prefect this year?' Ginny asked curiously, wondering this very question when she received no prefect badge in her letter, not that she had expected one anyway, she was sure that Maria Bentley would get the badge. She was the more responsible and noticeable Gryffindor fifth year. 

'I don't think so, I think prefects are restricted to fifth years, did you make prefect?' 

'No.' Ginny replied, and couldn't help thinking that because she wasn't a prefect was the main reason to her parents not paying much attention to her lately. _I hate this, _Ginny thought miserably. _I hate the way they always talk to Ron and pretend that I'm not here. _She crossed one leg over the other and prepared herself for a night of listening to conversations. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

~* What did you all think? Later I have planned to make this a Draco/Ginny fiction, for reasons which will be revealed later! Please review and let me know if you like it or not! Love you all! *~

~Gryffindor Gal~


	2. Renovations

Cast Away

~* Here's chapter 2, I hope you all like it! *~

****

Chapter 2 ~ Renovations

The Burrow, known to many as a large, old and rickety structure with many stories held up by magic. That would soon change. Molly had agreed to taking down the top five stories so that The Burrow would only be a two story house. Ron had also had the idea for them to expand the bottom two stories so that they were larger, and the house would look normal. Of course, Ginny was the one who had originally suggested to expand the bottom two stories, but it was somehow turned into Ron's idea. 

'Hustling, Harry and Hermione will be here any second!' Molly Weasley shouted to her sleeping children at eight o'clock that morning. Ginny groaned and rolled over in her bed before she finally decided to get up and have a shower. She did not want to look scrappy when Harry and Hermione arrived, after all, they were her friends too. 

'Ron! Wake up!' Molly's voice could be heard from Ron's bedroom door. 

'I don't want to wake up.' Came the sleepy reply. 

'If you don't wake up now, we'll tear down the house with you still in it!' Molly said impatiently. This got Ron moving. Ginny heard him scrambling around, and getting his things together so that they wouldn't be taken down with the house. 

Ginny was smart, so she had already packed the previous night, so that she wouldn't have to pack when she first woke up. Ron on the other hand wasn't smart enough to realise that if he didn't pack the night before, he would have to do it early in the morning. Ginny carried all her bags down to the first floor, taking four trips to clear out all her belongings. As she set the final box down, Molly walked in. 

'Mum, why couldn't we just use magic to bring all my things down?' Ginny asked her mother. 

'Ginny dear, you know you're underage, you're not allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts.' Was the reply. 

'But you or dad could have done it.' Ginny answered, gaining a stern look from Molly. Ginny knew there was no point in arguing, as she had already moved her things down manually. Molly continued to move furniture around using her wand, and Ginny was ignored once again. 

'They're here, mum,' came Ron's voice from the front yard. Ginny looked out through the screen door and saw Harry and Hermione. She smiled and waved at them, and tried to look busy while she secretly listened to their conversation. 

'Harry! Hermione!' Ron called out to his friends.

'Alright Ron, how have you been?' Harry asked. 

'Not too bad, Harry.' Ron answered. 

'How many OWLS did you get?' Hermione asked. Ginny smiled secretly, a typical Hermione question. 

'Five.' Ron said shamefully. 

'Oh, I got eight!' Hermione said proudly. 

'Is that the most OWLS you can get?' Harry asked. 

'Yes, it is.' Hermione boasted. 'What about you Harry, how many OWLS did you get?' 

'Seven.' Harry said simply. 'I don't think Snape was too keen on giving me an OWL.' 

'Oh, but seven is still _very_ good!' Hermione said. 

'Five isn't…' Ron said sadly. 

'At least you did better than Fred and George.' Harry said cheerfully. 

'So what are you doing around here?' Hermione asked, glancing around to see that The Burrow wasn't having a very normal day. 

'Oh, we're tearing down the top five floors.' Ron said carelessly. 

'_What?_' 

'_Really?_' Harry and Hermione both looked horrified. 

'Yeah, we figured because there's only four of us living here, so there isn't much point in having such a large house.' Ron explained. 

'But I _like _your house!' Harry exclaimed. 

'You don't have to climb the massive amount of stairs every day at least five times!' Ron said. 

'Oh, I suppose that would be annoying after a while.' Hermione said, seeing the sense in it all. 

'Mum said that you two can help if you like?' Ron chirped. 

'Oh that would be great, I wouldn't mind one bit, how about you Hermione?' 

'Um, I might just stay and do some homework, I planned on writing the essay for Professor Binns today.' Hermione said, looking a little sad that she wouldn't be able to help out. 

'That's my Hermione.' Harry smiled and patted her on the back. 'We'll leave you to it.' 

'Ginny's in there, she might like some company.' Ron explained.

'Alright, I'll go and sit with Gin.' Hermione said. She gathered her things and left them neatly in the kitchen. Hermione sat down at the Weasley table, took out her History notes, and began scribbling away. 

'Hi Hermione.' Ginny said, taking a seat opposite Hermione. 

'Hey Ginny, how are you doing?' 

'I'm not too bad, yourself?' Ginny tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. 

'I'm okay, I have a lot of homework I have to do, I haven't really had much time during the holidays.' Hermione grinned sheepishly. 'Something the guys don't know about.' She added as an afterthought. 

'Ooh, really? What?' Ginny asked curiously, leaning over. Hermione looked up from her essay with a large smile on her face. 

'Well, my parents and I went on a holiday to a small island on the coast of England, and we stayed at a beach resort. While we were there, I met this really cute guy named Hank, and we kinda got together…' Hermione trailed off. Ginny looked shocked. 

'You _slept _with a guy you hardly know?' 

'Oh no, nothing like that, but we're dating!' Hermione said. 

'Oh, really? Is he a wizard? Does he know you're a witch? How old is he? Where does he live? Will he visit you at Hogwarts?' Ginny was full of questions. 

'Woah, one at a time Gin.' Hermione said. 

'Is he a wizard?'

'No, he's not a wizard or he would attend Hogwarts.' Hermione answered. 

'Does he know you're a witch?' 

'Yes, I told him on our first date, he took it really well.' Hermione said. 

'How old is he?' 

'He is seventeen, one year older than me.' 

'Where does he live?' 

'He lives near the resort I was staying at.' 

Will he visit you at Hogwarts?' 

'I'm not quite sure about that, but I hope he will.' Hermione said dreamily. 

'Did you tell him about Hogwarts?' 

'Well, he asked where I learnt it all, and I mentioned Hogwarts, but I don't think he'll be visiting me there.' 

'Why not?' 

'Because Muggles can't get to Hogwarts, remember?' Hermione said sadly. 'But I'm going home for the Christmas Holidays, and we're going back to the resort so that I can see Hank again.' 

'Do your parents know about him?' 

'No, but we're going back anyway because mum and dad loved it so much!' Hermione said. 

'You didn't tell them about Hank? Why not?' Ginny asked, surprised at Hermione. 

'I didn't tell them about Hank because they wouldn't approve of me dating someone like him.' 

'What's wrong with him?' 

'He's a typical surfer guy.' Hermione said. 

'Oh, why is that bad?' 

'They don't like people like him, they would want me dating a smart person, just like I am.' Hermione answered.

'So what does Hank look like?' 

'He's six foot two, big, bright blue eyes, sandy brown hair that's messy, and a surfer's build!' Hermione sighed as she recalled Hank's appearance.

'Oh, I wish I could date a guy like that!' 

'I'll introduce you someday.' Hermione said. 'Would you like that?' 

__

No you idiot! I wouldn't like to meet him because then I would be reminded of how lucky you are to have a guy like that, and that I'll never get a guy like that! 'Sure, I would love too meet him.' Ginny lied. 

'Great!' Hermione grinned. 'I really should get back to this essay.' 

'Okay then.' Ginny wandered outside, around to where her family and Harry were working. She noticed that the top three floors were stationed around their enormous back yard, and they were in the process of removing the fourth floor. 

'How's it going?' Ginny asked Harry. 

'Not too bad, it's a lot of work though.' Harry replied with a smile. Ginny smiled back, but it was a weak smile. _If I stay here I'll just get in the way somehow,_ Ginny thought to herself, and walked away where she could play with Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. 

~***~

After three more hours, the house was two stories, and a lot wider than it had been. Molly, Arthur, Ron and Harry stood back and proudly admired their handy-work. 

'It looks rather nice, much neater than the usual seven stories!' Ginny exclaimed. Hermione, who was standing beside her, nodded. She had finished her essay an hour ago, and had kept Ginny company. 

'Alright, now that all that renovating is over and done with, we should probably get to Grimmauld Place, the Order is expecting us.' Molly said, dusting her hands. 'Now where did I leave that port-key?' She left the others to hunt for her port-key. 

Several minutes later, Molly returned, with no port-key. She sighed. 

'Looks like we'll just have to Floo there.' She said, exasperated. Molly got the jar in which they kept their Floo powder, and she handed it to Hermione. 'Ladies first.' Hermione took a handful of Floo powder, stepped into the fireplace, threw the powder and yelled,

'Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!' In a flash of green fire, she was gone. 

'You next Ginny dear.' Molly offered the Floo powder to Ginny, who took a handful and stepped into the fire, as Hermione had done before her. 

'Number twelve, Grimmauld Place.' Ginny said as she threw her powder into the ashes. She felt her bellybutton jerk as she was transported to the desired destination. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

~* That's the chapter! I hope you all liked it! *~

~Gryffindor Gal~

**Orli-anon**** ~ **Thanks for that! I like Ginny/Draco too, they just seem so cute together! I go to Bribie Island State High School, okays? Thanks for reading and reviewing!

****

Tylah ~ Thank-you! Ginny and Draco are very cute together aren't they! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!

****

Samilia ~ I am trying to explain Ginny's feelings, I'm glad you like that! I think that Ginny should play a more important role in the next book, but it's not up to me, however, if it was… hehehe! Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'll be sure to keep on writing!

****

SexySlytherinChick ~ I hope that this fiction will be as good as my others, but one can only hope! It should only be a few more chapters until they get to Hogwarts and we find out about Draco! Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	3. Grimmauld Place

Cast Away

~* I'm wondering, since I answer reviews at the bottom, is it necessary to put a note at the start and finish of a chapter? I don't think I will! Just one thing, sorry for not posting on this story for a while, I haven't done much writing lately. *~

****

Chapter 3 ~ Grimmauld Place

Ginny tumbled out of the fire place at Grimmauld Place in a heap. She had crash landed. Ginny had never been good with Floo Transportation, which is why she avoided it so much. She gathered herself before taking a look around the room to see who was there. Tonks was sitting on a small blue lounge chair, looking rather sad. However, when she saw Ginny, she smiled. 

'Hi Ginny, it's been a while since I've seen you.' Tonks said, trying to sound cheerful, but failing. 

'Hi,' Ginny said in a blank tone, she and Tonks had never really clicked. Ginny disapproved of Tonks's ridiculous hair styles, this one no better. It was a brilliant shade of mauve, pulled up into a mohawk spike with silver lightning bolts streaked through. Ginny frowned.

'Nymphadora, how lovely to see you!' Molly said, coming from behind Ginny. She had arrived so professionally that Ginny didn't even hear her come out of the fireplace. Tonks stood up and gave Molly a quick hug in welcome. 

'Molly dear, how have you been?' Tonks said, somewhat happier that Molly had arrived. 

'I'm quite tuckered out, actually. We have just spent the morning changing our house.' Molly explained. Tonks looked shocked. 

'You mean the Burrow? What have you done to it? Tell me everything!' The two ladies headed off into the kitchen for a cup of tea and to exchange gossip. Ginny's eyes fell back to the fire place, however, nobody else had arrived. Soon enough, however, Hermione came through the fire place in a flash of green light. She made a graceful entrance, glancing around the room before seeing Ginny. 

'Where's Molly?' Hermione asked. 

'In the kitchen with Tonks.' Ginny replied. 

'Tonks? Really? I've always liked her, I'm just going to go say hello, I may even tell them about Hank.' Hermione said, turning to walk into the kitchen, but remembering something, so she stopped. 'Here's a photo of him.' Hermione pulled a photo out of her pocket, and showed it to Ginny. She did the best to hide her longing to have someone as gorgeous as Hank. 

'He's not too bad.' Ginny managed to say. 

'Mmm,' Hermione said, and remembered that she was going into the kitchen, so she left Ginny alone once more. Harry was next to come through the fire place. 

'Ginny, are they expecting us?' Was the first thing Harry said. Ginny could see that he was trying to hide his emotions. This was the first time they had been in Grimmauld Place before Sirius had passed away, and Ginny could see the torment in Harry's eyes. 

'No, I don't think the whole Order is here yet, but Tonks, mum and Hermione are in the kitchen talking.' Ginny informed him. 

'Thanks Ginny,' Harry said. 'Aren't you going to come into the kitchen too?' He asked. Ginny shook her head, _No, why would I want to? _

'No, I'll just wait here for Ron and dad.' Ginny said calmly. 

'Okay then, send them in when they get here.' Harry turned and disappeared from sight. Ginny didn't particularly want to wait for Ron and her father, so she headed in the opposite direction to explore the old house once more. As she headed up the stairs, she noticed the black veil covering Sirius's mother. Ginny was glad that she was asleep, Mrs Black always used to taunt Ginny more than usual. _You're over shadowed, _Mrs Black used to say, among other things which always put Ginny down even more. Ginny shuddered at the memory, but continued on. 

'This looks strange,' Ginny said to herself as she entered the main bedroom. It was dank, dark and unfriendly, actually, quite normal for this particular house. the strange part was that all the furniture had gone. Infact, the only piece of furniture Ginny had seen yet was that small blue lounge chair which Tonks had been resting in when they arrived. Her eyes scanned the room, there were no curtains on the windows, no clothes in the closet, nothing. However, there was a small piece of parchment on the floor. It looked disregarded and forgotten. Ginny picked it up. 

__

To Whom It May Concern,

Since the untimely decease of one Mr Sirius Black, all his possessions have been obliviated. Mr Black had, unfortunately, no family and no heirs in which to leave his possessions, therefore they were destroyed. Grimmauld Place has been sold, and you are given one month to evacuate the premises. 

Thank-you kindly,regards,

Shannon Noll, Minister for Lost Possessions

Ginny stared blankly into the parchment, not daring to believe what she had just read. She didn't know how long she stood there, but a voice snapped Ginny out of her thoughts. 

'Ginny? What are you doing?' A man's voice said. Ginny spun around to face Tonks, Molly and Arthur.

'Why are you crying, dear?' Molly asked, concerned. 

'What's that you've got there?' Tonks peered suspiciously at the parchment. Ginny held it up to her parents and Tonks. 

'They've destroyed all of Sirius's belongings, and sold Grimmauld Place.' Ginny managed to choke out. 

'We know Ginny, but you weren't supposed to know, and neither is Harry, Ron or Hermione, so kindly keep your trap shut.' Tonks said, sounding and looking annoyed. 

'Its not my fault I came across this piece of parchment, left lying around like that.' Ginny challenged. Tonks's eyes flared. 

'Young girls like you should keep your noses our of business that does not concern you.' Tonks glared at her. Molly and Arthur said nothing, they just looked like they strongly agreed with what Tonks was saying. Ginny tried to hide the tears which welled in her eyes, she pushed past Tonks and her parents, running out of the room and downstairs where she found the door to the basement. Ginny threw the door open and ran down the stairs, where she collapsed onto the cold, hard floor and cried. 

__

Why!? Why me? Why don't they understand me? Why is Tonks so horrible to me? What have I done to deserve all this? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

purfectchild ~ Thank you for your support, yes, Ginny is quite sad and depressed at the moment, she does have a low self esteem, but yes, that will change in later chapters! I agree, Hermione doesn't seem like the type to be with a surfer, that is one of the many twists I will throw in with this story. 

****

HarryzBabe ~ Thanks for the luck, I appreciate it! 

****

Trinka ~ Oh, thanks for pointing that out, I know that Rowling has made out that Ginny is appreciated by her parents, but I want the angle that she's the out shadowed girl/youngest child in the Weasley family. Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I hope you liked it.

****

Orli-anon ~ Hi, thanks for your review, my high school is in Queensland, where I live! It's good that you're using friends names in your fiction, I do that sometimes too! Well, about the month, I'm not quite sure about that myself… um, the school year will start in the next few chapters though, so it would be august sometime. 

****

AdversaireDAnges ~ Thank you for your nice review, I will be sure to keep it up, and hope that you continue to read and review!

****

Tylah ~ I'm trying to make Hank out to be hot, lol, I like surfer guys too, they ain't bad hay! Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I hope to get the next one out much sooner. 

****

Only A Handful Of Time ~ Thanks for the review. I'm glad there will be seven girls eventually, lol. I haven't read Morgaine's chapter for a while, I probably did notice Lyla in there, but forgot about her. I hope you update soon, and I'll try to as well!


	4. Never The Same Again

Cast Away

****

Chapter 4 ~ Never The Same Again

The door at the top of the basement stairs gave a click and it opened, letting in a stream of un-natural light, shaded only by a figure which stood at the entrance. 

'Ginny, are you down here?' Harry's voice rang out in the basement. Ginny looked up at him, her eyes dry from all tears, but red and puffy all the same. Harry saw her, and hurried down the stairs. She backed away from him, not wanting Harry to see her like this. 

'What do you want?' Ginny sniffed. 

'Everyone's looking for you, well, maybe not everyone, but I was.' Harry began, this made Ginny feel ten centimeters tall. 'I was worried, and I didn't know where you'd gotten to.' 

'What's it like, being back in Grimmauld Place, Sirius's house?' Ginny said in a misty voice. 

'It's the only thing I have left that reminds me of Sirius.' Harry said, his eyes looking toward the ceiling as if to aid the prevention of tears. Ginny sighed, he had to be told. 

'Harry, do you know who Shannon Noll is?' 

'No, sorry I don't, should I?' Harry looked confused. 

'He is the man who you will hate soon,' Ginny explained. 

'Why is that?' 

'He is the man responsible for selling Grimmauld Place.' She told him. Harry's facial expression turned from confusion to hatrid. 

'What? Sold? That's impossible!' Ginny held out the piece of parchment which she still had from when she rushed out of the main bedroom. Harry took it, and read it slowly. When he had finished reading, Harry scrunched up the parchment and threw it across the basement. 

'Now do you understand?' Ginny asked softly. 

'Why would they just poof all his belongings out of existance?' Harry said, gritting his teeth. 

'I don't have the answer to that, sorry,' 

'It's not your fault Ginny, thank you for telling me, I'm going to go ask Tonks about this.' Harry turned to walk up the stairs, but Ginny grabbed his arm frantically. She spun him around to look into her brown eyes. 

'No! You must not tell them I told you!' She said, searching his eyes for a promise.

'I won't say you told me, I'll say I stumbled across that parchment while I was looking for you.' Ginny felt the panic growing inside her. Harry must have noticed it in her expression, so he sighed. 'What am I supposed to do, Ginny? They've sold Grimmauld Place, and all of Sirius's belongings are gone, I have to say something!' He pleaded. Ginny's bottom lip trembled, however, she released Harry's arm. 'I have nothing left of him, nothing.' 

'Do what you want.' She said as calmly as she could manage. Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny shut him out by turning around and walking away, across the basement. She sat in a corner, looking out into the empty room, eyes glazed over. 'They already hate me as it is, what could one more thing hurt?' 

'Gin -' Harry began, but didn't know what to say. He sighed again, and prodded up the stairs. 

~***~

'That girl's got problems,' Harry said as he entered the lounge room where Ron and Hermione were sitting on the carpeted floor. He thought it best not to tell them about the house being sold, and all of Sirius's belongings vanished. Harry found a seat on the floor opposite to Hermione and Ron, who stared at him curiously. 

'Did you find Ginny?' Ron asked, Hermione glanced at Ron. 

'Of course he found her, or else he wouldn't have come in saying "that girl's got problems",' Hermione said matter-of-factly. Ron gave Hermione a look which made him look like a lost cow. Harry and Hermione both chose to ignore that look. 

'Ginny said that Tonks hates her.' Harry informed them. 'Well, she actually said "They all hate me", and I have a feeling that Molly and Arthur don't hate their own daughter, and Ron, you don't hate Ginny, neither do you Hermione, so she must mean Tonks.' 

'Why would Tonks hate her?' 

'Good question, Ron. I don't know.' Harry said. 

'Tonks certainly doesn't seem like the type to hate _anyone_, does she?' Hermione said, trying to make sense of it all. 

'No, not from how I see her, she's a lovely lady.' Said Harry. 

'Maybe Ginny's just taking things out of proportion? She has been doing that a lot lately, she thinks no one loves her.' Ron piped up. 

'Oh, that could be it, low self esteem, I've heard that's the worst case of depression.' Hermione frowned in concern. 

'Why would she be depressed though? She has a loving family, great friends, a good life, she should be quite happy from how I see it.' Harry told them. 

'Yes, but Harry, we don't know what goes on inside her head, do we?' Hermione pointed out. 

'Am I the only thing you have interesting to talk about?' Three heads snapped to the entrance to the lounge room, Ginny was standing there. 

'How long have you been there Ginny?' Ron asked. 

'Does it matter? Long enough to know you're talking about, and Hermione is right, you _don't _know what goes on inside my head, so I suggest you _stay _out of my life!' Ginny yelled. Her face slightly red from anger. Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed quite taken aback by this outburst from Ginny. 

'Ginny, it's not that bigger deal, we were just worried about you.' Hermione said soothingly. 

'No, you don't say?' Ginny replied sarcastically. Hermione looked as if she'd just been slapped. 

'Fine, maybe we _won't _worry about you, how does _that _sound?' Hermione said coldly. 

'Hermione -' Harry was cut off.

'No, Harry, if she doesn't want us to care about her, then why should we?' 

'Hermione -' 

'Ron! Just leave it, okay?' 

'I'll just leave you to it then.' Ginny said harshly, and left the room. 

~***~

'That girl cannot be trusted with information like that, I know she'll tell someone, Harry at least, and we _cannot _have Harry know about this!' Tonks said to Molly and Arthur. 

'Nymphadora, she _is _my daughter, and she _is _quite a trustworthy young lady, I'm sure she won't tell Harry, Ron, Hermione, or anyone else for that matter.' Molly said, trying to sway Tonks's opinion of Ginny. 

'She won't do anything to get her into trouble.' Arthur said. 'Not after her first year at Hogwarts.' He added as an afterthought. 

'That's right.' Molly agreed. Tonks stared over Molly's shoulder… right at Ginny.

'Haven't you been taught not to eavsdrop? Or is that something you've learnt from those no good brothers of yours, Fred and George?' Tonks said cooly. 

'Kindly cease putting my children down, Nymphadora, I do not appreciate it.' Molly said sternly, her patience with Tonks growing thin. 

'Why does everyone talk about me?' Ginny asked. 

'It's nothing of your concern Ginny,' Molly said softly. 'Please just let us talk in peace now.' 

'No! Harry has the right to know what's happening to his Godfather's things, and if one of you won't tell him… well, too bad, because I've already told him.' Ginny challenged. 

'See Molly, you must have raised her wrong, she has no morals.' Tonks said. 

'That is unfair judgement Nymphadora, and you know it!' Arthur bellowed. Tonks pouted. 

'I told Harry because he has the _right _to know dammit!' Ginny shouted. 'He has _nothing _left of his Godfather, or his parents for that matter. If you were in his situation, you would want to know as well.' She said that last part specifically to Tonks. 

'Ginny has a point you know.' Molly said slowly. 

'The sooner school starts the better.' Tonks said bitterly. 'You people must be getting back to the Burrow now, I have lots of work to do before these people come and live in this house.' 

'I do not appreciate your dismissal, however, we will leave, and our friendship will never be the same. Goodbye Nymphadora.' Molly said, and ushered Arthur and Ginny out of the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Tylah ~ I think we all wish Sirius was still alive, I mean, the next Harry Potter books won't be the same without him. I don't know why JK thought it necessary to kill a character! Thank you for reading & reviewing!

****

Kelz`* ~ Thank you for reading the story, and taking the time to review =)

****

AdversaireDAnges ~ Thank you for your lovely review, I will continue to update as soon as possible.

****

HarryzBabe ~ I did have a look at your story, I left a review as well. It seems to be coming along nicely, good luck with it, and I'll keep reading it. I'm glad you like my story!

****

purfectchild ~ Thank you! Yes, you should expect the unexpected! Besides, Tonks can't be loved by everyone, that would make her a Mary Sue! Hehehe, JK wrote a Mary Sue! I'm glad you like surprises, there's plenty more to come, believe me!

****

scholcomp25 ~ Hey, nice to see you coming up in another one of my stories, it means a lot when someone reads (and likes) more than one of my fictions! I will try to update as quickly as I can, thank you for taking the time to read and review. 


	5. Last Night

Cast Away

****

Chapter 5 ~ Last night

It was three days later, and Ginny was completely stoked that her parents had taken her side over Tonks'. She couldn't believe it, and she actually believed things would be different. However, not twenty-four hours after the incident, things were quite back to normal. Molly fussed over Harry and Hermione, especially, and even Ron. They were her sure favourites. 

Ginny sighed as she rolled over on her bed, trying to find a more comfortable position to read her favourite book, Reunion. 

'Ginny,' A voice rang out from behind Ginny's sturdy wooden door. She jerked up from her relaxed position and recognised her brother's voice at once. 'Ginny!' He called out for a second time. Ginny got up and opened the door. 

'What do you want?' She said, her eyes boring into Ron's. 

'Geez, no need to be vicious, mum just wanted me to tell you to be packed and ready to leave at eight tomorrow morning for Kings Cross Station.' 

'Is it the last day of August already? Well, that certainly went fast.' Ginny pouted, not particularly wanting to go back to Hogwarts quite yet. It meant that she would have even _less_ time with her parents. She did love them, but they never had the time for her which she wanted. 

'It sure did, okay? So pack.' Ron said, and he walked off, eager to rejoin Harry and Hermione in doing whatever it was they were doing. 

Ginny decided that it was essential that she started packing as soon as she could. She glanced at her round wall clock, 5.59pm. Ginny had always liked her clock, she had gotten it for Christmas when she was four. It was a brilliant blue around the edge, with a creamy purple colour on the face. The numbers were written in calligraphy, sparkling gold just like the hands. Each hour, the clock would chime three times, with a light, tinkling sound which always reminded Ginny of soft bells. 

Throwing all items which she would need throughout the school year into her truck, Ginny hummed a tune. It was a song which she heard, written by a girl her age. It was a beautiful tune, reminding Ginny of her own life. The song was called Cast Away, and Ginny loved it almost as much as her book, Reunion.

~***~

That night at dinner, Harry, Ron and Hermione were busy talking about starting their 6th year the next day. They were very excited about it. 

'I had to choose Advanced Potions, I need it to be an Auror.' Harry grumbled. 'McGonagall obviously talked to Snape about me taking Potions this year, there's no way that old grouch would let me in his class otherwise.' 

'You'll surely be the only Gryffindor in that class, tough luck Harry.' Ron said, causing Hermione to clear her throat rather loudly.

'Excuse me, _Ron_, I believe that _I _am taking Advanced Potions this year, am _I _not a Gryffindor?' Hermione scoffed. 

'Sorry Hermione.' Ron blushed. 

'Anyway, this year will certainly be a blast, they elect Head Boy and Girl at the end of term, I certainly hope I'm in with a chance.' Hermione said brightly. 

'I heard that it's a vote, and that the students have more of a say than the teachers!' Ron exclaimed. 

'Students have to be nominated to run for Head Boy or Girl, that's what I was told.' Hermione said. 

'Shouldn't it be more up to the Professors, and Dumbledore for that matter?' Ginny piped up. Three heads snapped in her direction, looking annoyed that she had interrupted. 

'I don't know Ginny, this is what we've been hearing. You can worry about this next year, okay?' Ron said impatiently. Ginny said nothing, putting her head down to her plate of untouched food. 

'Not hungry dear?' Molly asked, seeing that Ginny hadn't even touched her beef casserole. 

'No, not really.' Ginny replied, quite annoyed that her mother had made Ron's favourite dish the night before they go back to Hogwarts. Ginny had never really liked her mother's beef casserole, but she continued to prod it with her fork. 

__

Why wouldn't Dumbledore choose the Head Boy and Girl? Ginny wondered. She didn't want to say anything more, because Ron would snap at her for sure. 

'So Ron, have you had any thought about what you want to be after Hogwarts?' Molly asked, to make small talk. 

'Oh, I don't know, I probably would like to be a Professor at Hogwarts, or maybe even work for the Ministry of Magic.' At these words, Arthur looked up. 

'I would be delighted to put in a good word for you at the Ministry, all you have to do is ask.' Arthur said, stopping to finish a piece of meat. 

'Thanks dad.' Ron grinned. Ginny's heart sank, she knew that if she had wanted a job at the Ministry when she left Hogwarts, her father wouldn't make such an offer. 

Dinner ended rather soon after that, not much else being said. Ginny quietly slipped away from the gathering in the lounge room, she did not want to watch Ron, Harry and Hermione play exploding snap, and wizard chess, all the time having fun. She would much rather be in her room, reading her book. 

At 9.23pm, and Ginny decided to get off to sleep. She didn't want to over sleep in the morning, and she was sure that they wouldn't think to give her a second wake up call. This would be her last night at the Burrow for a whole year. Ginny planned to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, like she did most other years. 

~***~

'Quickly! Wake up! We're running late!' Molly bustled around the Burrow frantically trying to find things, books and quills, for Ron, who had "lost" them at the last minute. Ginny noticed that she was awake half an hour later than she had planned to be awake. 

'Harry, have you seen my sock?' Ron's voice could be heard from the corridor. 

'No, haven't seen any socks. I don't like socks, Dobby does though, maybe you could borrow a few from him?' Came the reply. 

'Nah, it's okay, I found it.' Ron called out. 'You can all stop looking for it now,' 

'Like we were looking in the first place,' Ginny heard Harry mutter under his breath. 

It was well after nine thirty before they got on the road. Arthur had loaned a Ministry car, which was jet black. Ginny could feel the heat melt through the car door as she stared out at the traffic. They arrived at Kings Cross Station at ten to eleven, and hurried around the crouds of people, trying to get to the barrier before the train left. 

Ginny ran through first, not bothering to wait for Harry, Ron and Hermione. She handed her bags to the guys who were packing the train, and she jumped on the Hogwarts Express. 

Ginny walked down the isle, trying to find Maria Brently, Julia Thorn and Cassandra Chambers, Ginny's fellow fifth year girls. She finally found them, in a compartment with Phillip Cassady and Drew Hickling, fifth year boys who were quite popular. Ginny noticed that flashing on Phillip's and Maria's chests were shiney, new prefect badges. She knew Maria would get the badge, so that was no shock. 

'Hey Ginny, it's been a while.' Phillip said, flashing Ginny a smile. 

'Hi Phillip, Maria, Julia, Cassandra and Drew.' Ginny said, taking a seat by the window. She stared out as the train began it's journey to Hogwarts, knowing that she would hardly be spoken to. Each Gryffindor said hello to Ginny in turn. 

'How was your holidays?' Julia asked. Ginny thought about telling them about Sirius's house and belongings, but she decided it would be best not to, as Tonks would probably hunt her down if people started talking about the situation. 

'Pretty boring actually, we renovated our house, but that's about all.' Ginny replied at last. 

'Oh, that's a shame then.' Julia said, losing interest quickly and turning back to Phillip. 

__

I'm in for a long trip… Ginny thought, and she sighed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Serpent of Light ~ Thank you for your words, I hope I got this chapter up nice and quick for you! I didn't notice the rhyming until you said it! hehehe. Yes indeed, Draco/Ginny is pretty cool, there's a really good fiction that has just been finished on D/G, it's called The Source, and it's by LuckyDucky7, so if you come across that, give it a read!

****

Orli-anon ~ I wasn't sure which story to read, so I just randomly picked one! I think I left a review on every chapter, I did enjoy reading it, I hope you continue with it. I hope you like what I did with the dinner scene. Don't worry, they all like Ginny still, but her attitude is getting them all down at the moment, things will change! Thank you for your review, it's okay that you didn't get to read the chapters sooner!

****

HarryzBabe ~ Good to hear that you're working on the next chapter! You don't need suggestions for your story, it is coming along quite nicely. Thank you for your kind review. Did you like how I made Tonks out? Someone told me that Tonks is a Mary-Sue, and that JK wrote one! I was shocked, but I realised that it's true, so I made her a bit of a bitch. Lol. Hope you liked this chapter!

****

rose petel ~ Oh, I didn't think of making Molly slap Tonks, that wouldn't be something that Molly would do though. Tonks won't come up much more in the fiction, so we don't have to worry about her! I hope you continue to read & review. 

****

kura52 ~ Yes, I intentionally made Tonks a bitch. She does seem like a Mary-Sue in the Harry Potter books, so I twisted her character a small bit. I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

****

purfectchild ~ Ginny will see soon enough that not everyone hates her, she just has a low self-esteem at the moment. She will improve in upcoming chapters now that she's back with her friends. Draco will be coming up in the next 2 chapters, I can assure that. I love him too, so I'm getting quite impatient myself! I hope you liked this chapter!

****

scholcomp25 ~ Thank you for continuing to read! I hope you liked this chapter too. Thank you for your kind review. 

****

Tylah ~ Thank you for your long review! I like reading long ones! Who doesn't? Yes, I do live in Australia, but I wasn't a big fan of Idol, I just chose to use Shannon's name because it was handy at the time, lol. Bad excuse, I know! I'll try to update as soon as possible, I want to get this fiction to the level that my others are at quickly, so you should see updates soon. I hope you liked this chapter! 


	6. Dinner

Cast Away

****

Chapter 6 ~ Dinner

In the Great Hall, Ginny met up with her friend since first year, Sigma Orionis. Sigma was a short, skinny girl with long, straight black hair. Her skin was almost white, absolutely clear of all freckles and spots. Her nails were rather long, and always painted a sparkling silver colour. She had dull brown eyes, which only lit up when she was in a very bad mood. 

'Sigma!' Ginny ran up to her friend. Sigma had PSI, in other words, Personal Space Issues, which meant that she didn't like being touched, by anybody. So Ginny refrained from giving Sigma a hug. She came from a Muggle family, therefore Ginny was not able to see her during the holidays. 

'Hello Ginny, I trust you had a lovely holidays?' Sigma didn't talk much. Her voice was whispy and hard to understand, so when she did talk, she said the right things. 

'Oh, not too bad, my house was torn apart and put back together, nothing much else interesting happened.' Ginny told her. Sigma didn't say anything. 'Should we go get a seat at the Gryffindor Table?' Sigma nodded, so they went and took their seats at the table. Ginny sat next to Cassandra, the least prissy of the trio, Maria, Julia and Cassandra, and Sigma took her seat next to Ginny. 

'She's weird,' Cassandra was saying to Julia and Maria, they obviously hadn't noticed Ginny and Sigma sit down. 'I don't know why they put her in Gryffindor, her brother is so much more normal than she is.' 

__

What the hell is she talking about? Ginny thought to herself. She glanced at Sigma, she was off in her own world, her eyes glazed over, and she appeared to be staring into space. 

'Who are you talking about, Cassy?' Ginny asked, looking at the three girls. 

'No one,' Julia quickly said. 

'Really? Someone who is weird, in Gryffindor, and has a brother, hmm, who might that be?' Ginny said sarcastically.

'Lighten up Ginny, we weren't talking about you.' Maria said impatiently from the other side of Julia. Ginny was about to say something, but her thoughts trailed off as Professor Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands together for the student's attention. 

'Welcome, welcome, to a new year at Hogwarts!' Applause rang through the Great Hall. 'Before I start anything, I would like to make the announcement of our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alpha Antares, or just Professor Antares.' A youngish looking woman stood up. She had short blonde hair which was pulled up into a small pony tail on top of her head with parts of her hair falling out. Her eyes were blue, and she looked like a fun lady to have as a teacher. 

'Oh she looks fun, we haven't had a female Defense teacher yet, well, one that was any good… I hope she's good!' Maria whispered. 

'Hey, Parvati Patil's sister starts this year, hmm, what's her name again? Um, it's … I'll think of it in a second… Ptolemy Patil, that's the one. Mr and Mrs Patil must have a thing for names that start with "P".' Julia finished. 

'But you said Tolemy? With a "T"?' Maria said with a confused look on her face. 

'The "P" at the start is silent.' Julia said simply. 

'Oh, okay then.' 

'With that out of the way, Minerva may continue with the sorting ceremony.' Dumbledore said, and beckoned for McGonagall to fetch the first years. 

Ginny sat through the sorting ceremony, not bothering to watch or even listen. Occasionally, she would glance over to Sigma and whisper something to her, but otherwise, Ginny sat in silence. 

'Ooh, look, there's Ptolemy! Doesn't she look just like her sisters?' Julia cooed. 

'She does look a lot like them,' Maria answered. 

'Patil, Ptolemy,' Ptolemy walked up nervously and sat on the rickety stool. Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on the small girl's head. 

'This should be good, seeing as Padma's in Ravenclaw, and Parvati's in Gryffindor.' Cassandra said.

'GRYFFINDOR!' The Sorting Hat called out. 

'Another one,' Ginny sighed, she just wanted to eat and go up to her much missed bed at Hogwarts. She also missed being able to choose what she would eat that night, and was beginning to get quite hungry. 

When the sorting ceremony finished, Ginny and Sigma followed Maria, Julia and Cassandra, for the small fact that Maria had the Gryffindor password, and neither Ginny nor Sigma knew it. Little did they know, that Maria, Julia and Cassandra weren't headed up to the Gryffindor common room yet. The three stratigically weaved their way through the crouds of people, finally assembling on the second floor at the Library. 

'Are they coming?' Julia asked, peering out of the library and down the corridor. Ginny and Sigma pressed flat against the wall to avoid being seen. 

'What are you two doing here?' A voice called out, Julia, Maria and Cassandra stepped around the corridor, and saw the situation. Phillip turned to the three girls, 'What are they doing here?' 

'I think the question is, what are you two prefects doing here? You're supposed to be leading the first years up to the common room.' Ginny said to Phillip and Maria. The prefects exchanged worried glances and both bolted for the nearest staircase. 

Drew looked at Cassandra and Julia, in hope they would be able to go somewhere else. 

'Shouldn't you guys be getting back to the Gryffindor common room now? The password's Fiddlesticks.' Julia said, dismissing Sigma and Ginny. 

'Thanks,' Ginny said shortly, and she led her friend away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

~* Just a note, sorry that my chapters seem to be getting shorter, but not to worry. I just didn't have anything else I wanted to add to that chapter. The next one shouldn't be too far away, and it should be a lot longer. *~

****

purfectchild ~ I'm glad you liked Ginny in that chapter! She does seem happier now that she's with her friend Sigma, so her attitude should start getting better! Oh yeah, Draco coming! I think everyone's looking forward to his arival, which won't be disappointing! I hope you liked this chapter.

****

Jorrn716 ~ Thank you for your review, yes, it does seem appropriate for Ginny to be the forgotten one. They're at school, did you like the chapter? It will get better don't you stress. Ginny will get more self esteem now that she has Sigma to be there for her. 

****

Darcy16 ~ Thankyou for reading! Yes, Ginny will be okay, it will all turn out good for her, eventually… lol. Tonks, well, I didn't like the way JK wrote her to be honest, she seemed too much like a Mary Sue, so I changed her character around a bit. Thank you for putting this story under your favourites, I hope this chapter was up quick enough, sorry about the length though.

****

Serpent of Light ~ I did have a good weekend, thank you! Yes, I have a lot of praise for Luckyducky7's story The Source, it's so good! If you can't find it, it's in my favourite stories. I'm writing this fiction fast so that it can catch up to all my others, so when it's about 25 chapters long, the chapters may not come out so fast! 

****

HarryzBabe ~ Yeah, it is sad that her parents ignore her, I want people who read it to feel sorry for Ginny. I didn't want people expecting Tonks to be as she was in the books, I didn't like her character much, to Mary Sueish. Did you like this chapter? It was only dinner, and more evidence that Phillip, Drew, Julia, Maria & Cassandra have something going on. Ptolemy Patil will come up later, that's why I added her in as well. 

****

kura52 ~ Oh Herm and Ron aren't so bad in later chapters, they're just annoyed because Ginny told them off at Grimmauld Place. I thought about what you said with Ginny having one best friend, and I created Sigma for the occasion! Yes, the Gryffindors in Ginny's year are not peachy, but they are capable of being sickly sweet if the occasion calls for it. Draco will make his flash appearance in the next chapter! Dum dum dum. I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

rose petel ~ Sorry to disappoint you, but Draco didn't show up in this chapter, but don't you worry, he will be in the next one for sure! 

****

SexySlytherinChick ~ Oh, sometimes Molly and Arthur are in character, but for the main time they appear, no, they're not in character. Ha! Tell Ron to bugger off, if you'd like I'll tone his arrogance down a little bit okay? Cool! I hope you liked this chapter.


	7. Contest

Cast Away

****

Chapter 7 ~ Contest

The next morning, Ginny and Sigma woke up early to prevent any run ins with Maria, Julia and Cassandra. 

'I don't think they'll wake up until eight, I mean, they did have a late night last night.' Ginny told her friend. Sigma nodded, and they walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs into the common room. 

Hermione, Harry and Ron were sitting in their chairs at the fireplace not saying anything. 

'Good morning Ginny, Sigma,' Hermione said brightly. 'You two certainly are up early this morning, excited about classes?' 

'Not really, we were just getting out of our room before Maria, Julia and Cassandra wake up.' Ginny told her. 

'Maria? She's the Gryffindor prefect, she is a nice girl,' Hermione replied. _Nice? I don't think so…_ Ginny thought to herself. 

'Shall we head down to breakfast, Ginny?' Sigma asked softly. 

'Sure, Hermione, Ron, Harry, I'll see you guys later,' Ginny waved goodbye and went with Sigma. 

'Bye Gin.' 

'Seeya Ginny,' 

'I'll see you down at breakfast.' Came the three farewells as Ginny and Sigma left. 

'Why do they never talk to you, Sigma?' Ginny asked as soon as they were out of earshot. Sigma shrugged. 

'It could be because I do not talk that much.' She answered. 

'Maybe, I'm not sure, but I don't see anything wrong with you!' Ginny said, and the two headed off to the Great Hall for breakfast, even though it was half an hour before breakfast actually started. 

In the Great Hall, there was a large crowd surrounding the Slytherin table. _This is weird, Slytherins usually don't like having people around them? _Ginny thought, so the two friends went to check it out. They pushed their way to the front of all the people, and saw two guys standing on the Slytherin table. Blaise Zabini, and none other than Draco Malfoy himself. Sitting inbetween the boys were two large barrels. 

Ginny looked around the Great Hall, trying to spot a teacher somewhere, however, no teachers were around. A lot of whispering was going on around them, people were wondering what was going on. Leanne Brayshaw, a fifth year Slytherin, got up onto the table. She was very skinny, very pretty, very mean and very popular. Leanne wore tight fitting jeans and a small white singlet top. Some cheers rose from the male population as Leanne got up. She smiled, and started her announcement. 

'With the help of some fellow Slytherins, I have organised a contest!' Another loud cheer. 'In each of these barrels is five litres of cold, hard coleslaw!' Some murmurs could be heard, people were wondering what the contest would be on. 'Let me introduce the contestants! Here is the smartest, most popular, amazing, spunky Slytherin, Draco Malfoy! The challenger today, is none other than Blaise Zabini! Second to Draco in everything, but he's back to prove that wrong!' Leanne paused after the introduction of her contenders. 

'An eating contest?' Ginny whispered to Sigma. 

'Whoever gets their slaw down first is the winner! No throwing up, no cheating!' Leanne announced. 'Barrels ready! GO!' 

Draco and Blaise both lifted their barrels to their mouths and started to slurp down the slaw. Some people looked away in disgust, Ginny was one of those people, but she slowly started to get drawn back to the contest. Blaise started to struggle, almost throwing up, but Draco was going strong. He stopped only to breathe. Sigma looked on in amazement, while most of the people in the audience were highly amused. 

'Only fools would do something like this!' Ginny said to her friend. Draco looked as if he had almost finished, but Blaise was certainly making a challenge out of himself. After a few more minutes, Draco was successful in defeating Blaise, and getting all his slaw down. Draco showed Leanne and the audience his mouth to prove that he had swallowed all of it, and a huge cheer broke out. Blaise set his barrel down, clearly disappointed in his efforts. 

Leanne clapped her hands two times, and a small house elf rushed out with two large glasses filled with a sticky brown paste. Leanne took the glasses from the elf, and it scurried off. 

'These glasses contain slaw, Hippogriff slop, raw octopus, clams, tomato paste, raw flour, raw eggs and one sardine, all blended in together! Can we have a challenger from the audience to take on our winner, Draco Malfoy?' Leanne announced. 

Ginny thought about this, she had never had problems with eating disgusting foods, her fellow Gryffindors always used to dare her to eat various things to be accepted into their circle of friends. No one else looked like they were up for the challenge, some people even turned a bit green. 

'No takers?' Leanne asked once more. Ginny put her hand in the air. 

'I'll take it on.' She said bravely, and everyone turned to see who had accepted the challenge. 

'Weasley?' Draco spat, stifling a laugh, however, Ginny bravely left Sigma's side and stepped up onto the table. Some Slytherins jeered at her, but the other three houses cheered her on, hoping that she would beat Draco. Leanne handed a glass to Draco, and one to Ginny. 

'Shake hands!' Leanne said happily. Draco stuck his hand out, not wanting to be a bad sport, and Ginny took it. 'Contestants ready? On my go, three, two, one, GO!' 

Ginny got straight into her mixture, holding her nose and chucking the gross drink down. She didn't even taste it as the mix slipped down her throat. She paused for a second to let the stuff that she had already swallowed settle down in her stomach, before getting straight back into it. Ginny forgot that she was even in a competition, she just focused on getting that mixture down as soon as possible. At last, Ginny got to the last mouthful, remembered where she was, and showed everyone her mouth to prove she had swallowed it all. 

'We have a winner!' Leanne cried, and she held Ginny's hand up. Draco glared over at Ginny, he still had half of his mixture to go. Applause broke out from the large crowd as Ginny broke into a smile. Draco scowled. Ginny jumped down from the Slytherin table, and rejoined Sigma. 

'That was amazing, I never knew you were capable of something like that!' Sigma congratulated her. 

'Thanks Sigma.' Ginny replied. 

~***~

After the incident at breakfast a few days ago, Ginny had found she had gained a new level of respect from her fellow students. Everyone seemed to know who she was, the girl who beat Draco Malfoy. Ginny received many congratulations from most students, and many glares from Draco and his fan club. 

'Great way to start off the school year, Ginny, we're all proud of you!' A seventh year Hufflepuff said to Ginny as he passed her in the corridor on her way to class. 

'You're popular Ginny, maybe doing that contest was the best thing that you could have done.' Sigma said to her as they entered Transfiguration that morning. 

'Imagine if I'd lost though.' Ginny thought aloud. 

'But you didn't,' Sigma replied. 

'Miss Weasley, detention, my office, tonight eight PM sharp.' Professor McGonagall said sternly. 

'What did I do, Professor?' Ginny asked innocently. 

'I heard about that incident at breakfast, Mister Malfoy will also be receiving detention. That is against the school rules. Twenty points from Gryffindor for your behaviour.' Ginny and Sigma took their seats, Ginny looking like she could burst into tears at any moment. 

'I've never lost Gryffindor any points before!' Ginny complained. 'And I've never broken the school rules… if I'd known that was breaking the rules, I would never have done it! What if they send a letter home to my parents?' 

'Calm down Ginny, you showed up Draco Malfoy, isn't that great? That is more important to Gryffindor than twenty points, you know.' Sigma said, making Ginny feel ten times better. 

'You're right, thanks Sigma. I'll just go tonight, and accept my punishment.' Ginny replied with a smile on her face. 

~***~

At a quarter to eight, Ginny said goodbye to Sigma and made her way to Professor McGonagall's office. She saw that Draco was waiting outside, leaning against a wall. 

'She's not here yet.' He growled. 

'Why isn't Leanne getting punished? She organised the whole thing.' Ginny asked, outraged.

'The person who squealed didn't dob in Leanne, I think the guy has a crush on her or something.' Draco replied. 

'Who told?' Ginny asked. 

'I don't know, but I suspect Zabini, he doesn't like losing.' Draco replied. 

'Neither do you, as it appears.' Ginny smirked. Draco punched the wall rather hard. 

'Next time, it'll be your face.' He growled. Ginny shut her mouth immediately, and stood patiently, waiting for Professor McGonagall to show up. 

Eight PM came, and went, and still no sign of McGonagall. Ginny leant against the wall, and lowered herself onto the ground. She sat with her back against the wall, not daring to say another word until Professor McGonagall arrived. Soon, Draco did the same thing, sitting directly opposite to Ginny. They both stared at eachother, hatred in their eyes, neither one looking away, or blinking. 

When it pushed on ten o'clock, an owl arrived. It landed on Draco's shoulder, and he opened the envelope. He read it out to Ginny, seeing that it wasn't a personal letter. 

'_Mister Malfoy and Miss Weasley,_

I thank you for your patience, you may now head back to your common rooms, your detention has been served. 

Minerva McGonagall' 

'That was it?' Ginny asked, 'Spending two hours with you? I would have rather cleaned Hippogriff pens.' Draco glared at her. 

'And you think it was fun for me, Weasley?' Draco stood up, and walked downstairs, in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons. Ginny soon followed, but she went upstairs to the Gryffindor tower.

When she got up there, Sigma was sitting in an armchair, waiting for Ginny to come back. All the lights were out, along with the fire place, and Sigma was sitting in only the candle light from one of her many candles.

'Ginny, how was your detention?' Sigma asked wispily. Ginny sighed. 

'More horrible than you could imagine. McGonagall didn't even turn up, and I had to sit with Draco for over two hours waiting for her to come, and then she finally sent us an owl saying that our detention was over, and we could go back to our common rooms.' Ginny explained. 

'Oh, what an awful night for you,' Sigma said, being quite sympathetic of her friend. 

'Yeah, I know, I just want to get to bed now, so I'll see you in the morning.' Ginny said, and headed up the stairs to her dorms. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Serpent of Light ~ Don't worry I'll still update fast once this fiction is caught up to all the others. Did you like this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

SexySlytherinChick ~ Draco is here! Lol. Did you like the way I introduced him in this chapter? I don't know about having Ginny punch Ron, maybe a slap across the face later on? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Tylah ~ Sorry about not putting an answer to your review in the last chapter! I didn't see your review on the page until after I had the chapter posted… Guy must have been the best seeing as he won Idol! I'm trying to make Sigma interesting, she's not a normal person, we'll find out why along the track, wink wink. Did you like how I made Draco show up? I had fun writing this chapter! I hope you liked it. 

****

kura52 ~ I thought you might be happy about Sigma, did you like how I made Draco appear? This was one of my favourite chapters that I've written, I had fun writing it! Yes, Ginny's fellow Gryffindor 5th years aren't very nice to her… but that's okay because she has Sigma! I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

HarryzBabe ~ I like the name Ptolemy too, I found it while I was looking up constellations and stuff like that. I hope you liked this chapter, I enjoyed writing it, and it's longer than the last one! Just as I said it would be! 

****

purfectchild ~ Ginny will be standing up for herself a lot more after this chapter, she has gained a lot of respect by beating Draco, and a lot more self esteem. This is the start of Ginny and Draco getting together, but it will be a long and bumpy road. Them getting together will not be easy at all! They do still hate eachother. I hope you liked this chapter!

****

rose petel ~ Ginny does seem unloved, doesn't she! That's how I wanted her to seem in those first few chapters, but now, she has more respect and dignity. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter. 


	8. Hogsmeade Trip

Cast Away

****

Chapter 8 ~ Hogsmeade Trip

The weekend came really fast, first weekend of the school year. Luckily, it was an organised Hogsmeade trip, and the third years through to seventh years were getting excited about going back to the best Wizard shopping place in England.

Ginny had lost Sigma in the crowd, and was walking nervously by herself along the streets of Hogsmeade. 

'Ginny Weasley, famous Ginny Weasley.' A voice drawled. Ginny turned around to see Leanne Brayshaw heading towards her. 

'Hi Leanne.' Ginny said nervously, not wanting to be alone facing Leanne. 

'So tell me,' Leanne said, circling Ginny, 'How does it feel to be known as She-Who-Beat-The-Slytherin-Prince?' Ginny's eyes followed Leanne as the Slytherin girl walked around her. Leanne finally stopped in front of Ginny, awaiting an answer.

'It was his fault for not getting that drink down sooner.' Ginny said bravely. Leanne narrowed her eyes. 

'Pinning the blame on someone else now are we?' 

'No, I was just saying, I couldn't help it, you did ask for a challenger, challengers aren't supposed to let the other person win.' Ginny said quickly. 

'Who said anything about letting Draco win? He could beat you in an instant, I have organised a re-match.' Leanne said smugly. 

'A re-match? Why? I beat him fair and square.' Ginny was shocked, this could mean her losing respect, and that twenty points from Gryffindor would have been a total waste. 

'Don't argue, you should be up for anything after drinking that awful mixture,' Leanne scoffed. 

'I don't agree to a re-match,' Ginny told her firmly. If looks could kill, Ginny would be dead from the nasty look that Leanne was giving her. 

'You will do that re-match, or the whole school will know what a loser you are,' Leanne threatened. 

'The whole school will know what a sore loser Malfoy is when they find out about this re-match.' Ginny challenged. 

'You'll use any excuse to get out of this, won't you Ginny?' Leanne snapped. 'Be at the Great Hall two hours before dinner starts tonight. If you don't show up, you will be ridiculed for the rest of the year.' With that, Leanne pushed past Ginny and stalked off. Ginny was just about to turn and walk in the opposite direction, when a hand clasped her shoulder, and another around her mouth to prevent a scream. The attacker pulled her into a dark alley way, and Ginny was terrified. The person spun Ginny around to face him, and she saw immediately who it was, Blaise Zabini. 

'If I let go of your mouth, you're not allowed to scream,' Blaise said in a hushed tone, obviously not wanting anyone to see him talking to a Weasley. Ginny nodded slowly, and Blaise removed his hand from her mouth. 

'Why are you talking to me?' Ginny asked quietly. 

'I overheard you and Leanne talking back there, and I have to say, you have to go through with it.' 

'Why? I don't want Draco to beat me,' Ginny replied. 

'He won't, you'll beat him again, and then you will be famous, the whole school will want to be your friend,' Blaise said sincerely. 

'You're a Slytherin, you should be supporting your Slytherin friend,' Ginny questioned. 

'I know I am a Slytherin, but I have my issues with Draco,' Blaise trailed off, obviously not wanting to tell Ginny of his problems with Draco. 

'Malfoy is a prat, everyone has issues with him.' Ginny said. 

'True, but you _have_ to accept this re-match, and you _have _to beat him,' Blaise looked into Ginny's eyes, he was being serious. Ginny didn't know what to say to him, so she stared back into his eyes. 

'Yes,' 

'Good, I look forward to seeing you at the Great Hall, four PM sharp, two hours before dinner.' Blaise said, and with that, he disappeared down another side alley. 

Ginny soon found her way out of the twisting alleys, and back into the streets of Hogsmeade, where she saw Phillip Cassady and Maria Brently, walking to Honeydukes, hand in hand. 

'Maria, Phillip,' The two fifth year Gryffindors turned to see Ginny rushing towards them,' Have you two seen Sigma anywhere?' 

'No, why would we want to see her?' Phillip asked. Ginny frowned. 

'I used to think you two were nice people, you should be in Slytherin with the way you are treating myself and Sigma.' Ginny scowled. Maria looked quite taken aback. 

'That is an insult, who would want to be in Slytherin?' Maria said shrilly. 

'I never said you wanted to be in Slytherin, I said that you _should _be in Slytherin, there is a difference.' Ginny told her. 

'We shouldn't be in Slytherin, we're Gryffindors.' Phillip said shortly. 

'Well start acting like Gryffindors, and support your fellow housemates.' Ginny said. 

'Sigma shouldn't be in Gryffindor, she has no Gryffindor Pride.' Maria flipped her hair as she spoke. 

'Leave Sigma alone! Just because she's not like you two, and your other friends, Drew, Cassandra and Julia, that doesn't give you the right to judge her like that, she's a really nice person!' Ginny yelled.

'So says you,' Phillip scoffed, and he lead Maria away. 

'What's that supposed to mean?' Ginny called after them, but they didn't even flinch in reply.

'Ginny, leave them,' Ginny turned to see Sigma standing behind her. 'They're nothing to me, it's okay.' 

'Sorry Sigma,' Ginny said softly, she didn't like seeing her friend being outcasted, but then, Ginny herself was also being outcasted. 'We can be outcasts together.' Ginny said. Sigma nodded and smiled, and the pair of them walked off. 

~***~

Ginny headed back into the Gryffindor common room, the incident with Blaise still strong in her mind. _What has Draco done to Blaise which would make him want Draco to lose again?_ Ginny thought, she couldn't stop thinking about it. 

'Ginny, what's on your mind?' Harry asked, shuffling next to her on the sofa. Ginny shifted uncomfortably as his leg touched hers, _this is totally innocent, he doesn't like you, _Ginny told herself. 

'Did you hear about how I beat Malfoy in the eating contest?' Ginny asked. 

'Did I ever! That was awesome Ginny, Gryffindor couldn't be prouder.' Harry replied with a grin. 

'Tell that to Phillip, Maria, Julia, Drew and Cassandra,' Ginny sighed.

'What's wrong with them?' Harry asked. 

'Nothing, they just don't like me and Sigma for some reason,' Ginny told him. 

'Sigma is weird,' Harry said thoughtfully.

'Why does everyone say that? She's a really nice person!' Ginny protested. 

'Sorry Ginny, she just doesn't seem like a people person, that's all.' 

'Anyway, Leanne Brayshaw is organising a re-match, and I have to be at the Great Hall in fifteen minutes to compete, or else the school will think I'm a wimp.' Ginny sighed. Harry stood up and offered her his hand, which Ginny took, and he helped her up.

'Let's get you down there then,' Harry said with a smile, and Ginny let him drag her out of the Gryffindor common room and down all the stairs into the Entrance Hall. 

'This is it,' Ginny took a deep breath and walked into the Great Hall. 

'There she is!' Someone yelled out from the large crowd, once again around the Slytherin table. Leanne grinned evilly. 

'What's she up to?' Harry whispered to Ginny. 

'I don't know.' Ginny replied. 

'Here she is, Ginny Weasley, the competitor for dignity once and for all, versing Draco Malfoy, pride of Slytherin.' Leanne yelled out. 

'More like the Slump of Slytherin!' A Ravenclaw fourth year called out. 

'Yeah, he can't even beat a _girl_!' The Ravenclaw's friend added. Draco scowled at the two boys, who immediately shut their mouths. 

'Now that everyone's here,' Leanne shot a glance at Ginny, who had nervously climbed onto the Slytherin table, 'We can get started!' She clapped her hands twice, and the same elf which had come in last time, came in once again, this time carrying two large glasses filled with a runny orange paste. On the side of each glass was a ten inch long, dead Grindylow. 

'What? No one said anything about eating a Grindylow?' Ginny cried, outraged. 

'I researched it, and Grindylows are edible, not being poisonous or anything, they just don't taste too flash hot.' Leanne said smugly. Draco shot a look at Leanne, who winked her right eye. Draco nodded, and the elf handed the tray to Leanne, who turned back to the audience. 

'Ladies and gentlemen, I will let the contestants choose which glass they will drink from, Draco, call heads or tails,' Leanne flipped a silver sickle into the air. 

'Heads,' Draco said, and every eye was watching the silver sickle spin through the air. It landed somewhere amidst the crowd, which parted around where the sickle lay. 

'It's heads!' A Huflepuff girl called out, holding up the sickle. Ginny sighed, _that wasn't half rigged, _she thought sarcastically. Leanne walked over to Draco, winked with her right eye again, and offered Draco the tray. Draco looked from the left glass, to the right glass, and back to the left glass. After a few moments, he settled on the right glass, and plucked it from the tray. Leanne walked over to Ginny, and stuck out the remaining glass which Ginny took. 

'Get ready, for the most exciting of contests yet, Malfoy versus Weasley, same rules apply as last time! You must drink your drink, then eat the Grindylow to win, no throwing up!' Leanne said. 

'What's in the drink?' Someone asked from the crowd. 

'I can answer that!' Hermione yelled out, red faced as if she'd been running to get there on time. Leanne looked at her wide eyed. 

'We saw the elves make the drinks in the kitchens!' Ron called out, he had come in with Hermione. 

'In Ginny's glass, there is seaweed, pumpkin skin, decayed mothballs, billywig juice, spiders legs, bleeding clams, and mandrake skin, all blended together.' Hermione said, a few people turned their eyes over and looked quite sick. 

'And in Malfoy's glass, there is _pumpkin juice_!' Ron yelled. 'This contest is rigged!' A lot of murmurs could be heard from the people crowded around the Slytherin table. A Ravenclaw girl named Georgina Taylor jumped up and grabbed Draco's glass, taking a mouthful. 

'They're right! This is pumpkin juice!' Georgina informed everyone. 

'I don't believe it, wait, yes I do, this seems like a Slytherin thing to do,' Ginny said, and she looked thankfully at Hermione and Ron. 

'Were the other contests rigged too? Was Draco's coleslaw not expired? Did his brown drink have less gross things than mine?' Ginny accused Leanne, who narrowed her eyes. 

'Don't you dare accuse me!' 

'Well you had the elf make different drinks so that Ginny wouldn't be able to finish hers, and Malfoy would win,' Ron said. 

'That's right, did Malfoy have anything to do with this?' Hermione looked at Draco. 

'No, I'm just as surprised as you are, I could take on this Weasley,' He motioned to Ginny, 'Anyday.' 

'That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!' Ginny spat. 

'Are you calling me a lier, Weasley?' Draco said in a quiet, angry voice. 

'That's right, because you are a lier.' Ginny challenged. Draco lunged at her. 

'_Wingardium Leviosa!_' Ron yelled out, wand pointed at Draco, and he floated up into the air, away from Ginny. Ron set him down roughly on the table, and Ginny walked over to him. 

'Stand up you dirty cheater,' Ginny said, and Draco stood to face her. Ginny lifted her hand and flicked Draco on the nose. Draco looked quite taken aback by this, and he was too shocked to move or say anything. 'I should have known.' Ginny said. She jumped down from the Slytherin table, and walked through the crowd, out of the Great Hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

purfectchild ~ I made a re-match, I didn't think it would be like Slytherins to accept defeat like that! I hope you enjoyed it! There will be more of Draco to come, Ginny still hates him though, there's a lot of work to do! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

****

atrueslytherin ~ Thank you for your kind words, I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing. 

****

HarryzBabe ~ No, Malfoy definitely is not happy with Ginny! Did you like the way that I made the re-match turn out? This chapter was longer than the last one, I hope you liked it! I shall try not to have too many short chapters, but if I need to have a little one in there somewhere, I will put it in. 

****

Darcy16 ~ Thank you for your review, I was a bit worried about that last chapter! Did you like this one? Yes, Draco did take his time showing up, didn't he! I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Tylah ~ Did you like this chapter better than the last one? Although I liked writing the last one, this one was much better, I think! I hope you liked it, thank you for all your support!

****

Slytherin Heir ~ I'm glad you like this story, did you like how I did this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm getting these chapters out so quickly that I don't even give people time to read & review! Lol. 

****

rose petel ~ Thank you for your review, I'm not sure about Harry & Ginny, but this definitely is a Draco/Ginny fiction, there may be some other people as obsticles however. I hope you liked this chapter!


	9. Sigma's Identity

Cast Away

****

Chapter 9 ~ Sigma's Identity

Sigma took Divination. Ginny had decided to take the class with her so that Sigma wouldn't be alone. They had all their classes together, which was a good thing. One hot Friday afternoon, Ginny and Sigma were sitting in the dimly lit room belonging to Professor Trelawney. Ginny herself was never any good at Divination, but Sigma was all on top of it. She seemed to understand the small Professor better than anyone, even Lavender and Parvati. 

'Sigma, what planets does Mars have to be aligned with on the full moon to create a pull of love to two people?' Ginny asked, looking over at Sigma's chart. 

'Venus and Jupiter,' Sigma said in her whispy voice. The Divination classroom seemed to make Sigma's voice sound eerie and whispy, even more than normal, but Sigma didn't mind at all. 

'Thanks,' Ginny said, and started busily scribbling things on her chart. As she was writing, she heard a small cough. Looking up, Ginny saw Professor Trelawney standing over her. 

'Miss Weasley, I have the pleasure of teaching your brother,' Trelawney began. 

'That's nice,' Ginny replied. Trelawney looked over to Sigma. 

'I know your grandmother, Igorma Orionis, she looked exactly like you.' Sigma's eyes bored into Trelawney's. 

'I never knew her, what was she like?' Sigma asked casually. 

'She was one of the greatest Seers ever to have been at Hogwarts,' 

'Really?' Sigma said, not acting as if she was very interested. She looked as if the subject was none of her concern. 

'You know,' Trelawney said in an almost threatening voice, 'being a seer is an extraordinary talent, blessed only to a select few.' 

'That's nice,' Sigma said, brushing some dust from her shoulder. Trelawney grew impatient.

'To be a seer, you need to be a relative of one,' 

'Really, so I suppose your grandmother was a seer then?' Sigma asked, still showing no signs of actually paying attention to what the Professor was saying. 

'My grandmother was an extraordinary seer, I have inherited her gifts,' Trelawney said, her eyes boring into Sigma's calm, dull brown eyes. No one knew how long they held eye contact, neither party blinking nor looking away. The world in that classroom seemed to stand still for a long period of time, and Ginny, among others, was mesmerised by the electric vibes sent out by teacher and student. 

'Excuse me, Professor?' Trelawney's head snapped to Ginny, breaking eye contact with Sigma. 

'What?' She snapped. 

'I was just wondering if you could help me with my chart,' Ginny said timidly. 

~***~

Ginny and Sigma sat in a quiet corner of the Gryffindor common room. They watched bitterly as Maria, Phillip, Julia, Drew and Cassandra chatted merrily sitting around the fireplace. Sigma slapped a hand to her forehead and her eyes looked extremely distant. 

'Are you okay, Sigma?' Ginny asked, concerned. 

'Yeah, I'm fine, I think I just have a headache. I'll go and ask Hermione if she knows something to make it better. Don't wait up.' Sigma said, and walked up the stairs to the sixth year dorms where Hermione was sitting doing homework. Ginny felt so alone. She knew that the five fifth years were talking about her, and she hated them for it. _Why did Sigma have to leave me now? She probably doesn't even care anymore… _Ginny thought bitterly. 

She decided to go and eavesdrop on Sigma and Hermione's conversation, just to see if Sigma was lying to her. Ginny crept up the stairs and found the door to the sixth year dorms slightly ajar. She poked her head just to the gap and listened. 

'… Trelawney was talking to me about my grandmother in Divination today, Igorma Orionis. That's very strange, but the strangest thing is that I had a premonition about that Divination lesson. It was quite unclear, but I saw Trelawney talking to me about my grandmother.' Sigma finished with a sigh. 

'You had a premonition?' Hermione asked, concerned. 

'Yes, and while I was sitting in the common room with Ginny, I think I had another one,' Sigma told her. 

'That can sometimes be bad, but sometimes be good. Last year Harry had some sort of premonition which saved Arthur Weasley from certain death at the ministry. If Harry hadn't gotten that premonition Ginny and Ron's father would not be around this day.' Hermione told her. 

'My premonition wasn't anything like that, but it wasn't good either.' Sigma said, her eyes falling to the floor. 

'What was your premonition, Sigma?' Hermione asked, however, Sigma was silent. 'You have to tell me, if it's something that can be stopped, you have to tell me, Sigma.' Hermione urged.

'It was Maria,' Sigma kept her eyes on the floor as she spoke. 

'What about Maria?' Hermione pushed. 

'I saw her, in the hospital wing, she seemed troubled, sick even.' Sigma said. 'Then I saw her vomit in a bucket… what can it mean?' Hermione creased her brow as she thought of the possibilities. 

'It could mean one of two things; she could get very sick in the near future, or she could get pregnant.' Hermione replied. 

__

Pregnant? Ginny thought frantically, she may not hold Maria in high opinion, but she certainly didn't want to see her get pregnant, and at such a young age. Sigma and Hermione continued to talk, moving off the subject of Maria. _How can they sit there? Knowing that Maria could be in trouble? _Ginny spun on her heel and rushed down the stairs, in time to see Phillip leading Maria up the steps to the boys dorms. Ginny panicked and sprinted across the common room. 

'Maria!' Ginny yelled out, almost tripping over Harry's legs, stretched out across the floor. Maria and Phillip turned to see her, both with matching scowls on their faces. 

'What do you want?' Maria asked impatiently. 

'Sigma had a premonition about you,' Ginny began, but was cut off by Maria's hand, which was raised in front of Ginny's face. 

'I don't care about Sigma, I was there in Divination, she's no seer, okay?' Maria said. Ginny grew angry. 

'You have two choices, Maria, go up now with Phillip and end up in the hospital wing with morning sickness, or go to your own bed, not ruining your life.' Ginny said, and stalked away, out of the Gryffindor portrait, leaving Maria with a furious look on her face. 

Ginny was walking down the corridor as Maria ran after her. 

'Ginny Weasley!' Maria called as she ran up to her. Ginny turned around to face her. 

'Do you think I would be that stupid to get pregnant?' Maria said, the anger clearly showing in her facial features. 

'You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, you stupid girl,' Ginny said to her. 

'_You have NO right to tell me what I can and can't do!_' Maria screamed. 

'Fine, do what you like, just don't come crying to me when you need help.' Ginny said, her face red with frustration. 

'Like I would go to _you_ for help anyway,' Maria said in a low, dangerous voice, and walked off, back into the Gryffindor common room. 

Ginny couldn't bring herself to go back, so she did what she planned to do when she stalked out of the Gryffindor portrait, take a walk around the castle. 

The Hogwarts Castle was massive, filled with unexplored rooms and secret passageways, most of which Ginny had never seen. She mostly stuck to the classrooms, and didn't venture off like she knew Ron, Harry and Hermione did. Her only adventure at Hogwarts was the incident in first year with the Chamber of Secrets, and even then, Ginny wasn't in control of her actions. 

She stepped down a long tunnel on the fifth floor, noticing the glowing green moss covering the stone walls. The floor gradually melded into stone, and became quite slippery. Ginny's first thought was of the Slytherin Dungeons, but how could that be, when she was on the fifth floor. The passage veered down, and Ginny didn't know how long she walked it. At last, she saw a dim light at the end of the long tunnel. Relief swept over Ginny as she stepped into the light, but that didn't last long. 

'Weasley,' Draco Malfoy was sitting on a large green chair. 'What are you doing in this section of the Dungeons?' 

'I'm, I'm not in the dungeons, am I?'

'Did I not just ask you why you were in the _Dungeons_?' Malfoy spat impatiently. 'Don't ask stupid questions.' 

'Well I _was_ on the fifth floor.' Ginny said stubbornly. 

'Well you're _not _anymore, are you?' 

'Shove off Malfoy,' Ginny said, her eyes narrowing. 

'Excuse me, but who intruded on who?' Malfoy said sarcastically. 'Now if you wish to stay, you must be polite.' Malfoy faked a sweet smile. 

'I'd rather eat a raw chicken than be polite to you.' Ginny silently cursed herself for not going back to the Gryffindor common room when she had the chance. 

'Is that so?' Malfoy sauntered over to Ginny and put his hands on her waist. 

'What the _hell _are you doing?' Ginny yelled, pushing his hands off her. 

'It's been a long time…' Draco trailed off as he re-positioned his hands on Ginny's waist. 'And since prey walks so willingly into my lair…' Ginny felt positively sick. 

'I will not be used as your play thing.' Ginny said strongly, not wanting any part of this miserable git's life. 

'Good,' Malfoy removed his hands from her waist. 

'What? Good? You were just trying to seduce me?' Ginny asked, confused with his sudden chance of actions. Malfoy chuckled, which made Ginny shift uncomfortably. 

'You actually think I would bed a Weasley?' Draco laughed even harder. Ginny was on the verge of tears, she turned away from his taunting face, and ran through the dank tunnel which she had come through, choking back the tears which threatened to come. _I will not cry over a Malfoy!_

~***~

The next morning, Ginny woke early, the memory of the previous night still haunting her thoughts. Ginny rolled over her bed and jumped off it. She walked over to Sigma's bed, next to hers, and sat next to Sigma's sleeping form. Sigma's eyes snapped open not ten seconds after Ginny sat on her bed. 

'Good morning Sigma,' Ginny said. 

'Morning.' Sigma replied. 

'What were you talking to Hermione about last night? I over heard some of it, where you were saying you had a preminition? Why couldn't you talk to me about it?' Ginny asked, and Sigma looked sad. 

'Sorry Ginny, it's just that you're not a good student at Divination… that's all.' 

'Hermione doesn't even do it!' Ginny cried. 

'Yes, but Hermione does know a great deal about a lot of things, I thought she may be able to help me, that's all. Nothing personal Ginny, you're still my best friend.' Sigma replied, her voice harsh and dull. 

'What are you talking about?' 

'You know how Trelawney was talking to me about seers the other day in Divination, well, Hermione thinks, based on what I told her, that I'm a seer. I may have inherrited it from my grandmother.' Sigma told her wide eyed friend. 

'Really? A seer? Sigma, that's amazing! Why didn't you know before?' Ginny said happily. 

'Apparently seers don't come into their true powers until they're teenagers, every seer comes into their powers at a different age.' Sigma said. 

'Now you'll be able to see what's coming in the future!' Ginny exclaimed, and Sigma looked as if she hated what she was. 

'I don't want this ability, Ginny… it's hell. People will expect so much from me, I just don't want the burdon.' 

'But it's a blessing, you heard Trelawney.' Ginny said. 

'She is a fraud, none but two real preminitions her whole life.' Sigma said bitterly. 

'How do you know that?' Ginny asked, awestruck. 

'Something I can see when I look into her eyes.' Sigma explained. 

'Oh, I see.' 

'Ginny, it's Saturday, can we go back to sleep?' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Anonamous ~ Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you like my story. Thank you for the compliment about Ginny flicking Draco's nose, a few people liked that! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Miss Raynbow ~ Thank you for your nice review! But I don't think I'll be having any more rematches, I don't want to over do the concept of the eating contests! Besides, I don't want Draco winning any! I hope you liked this chapter, and continue to read!

****

Orli-anon ~ I'm glad your story makes sense, I was wondering why the Slytherin girls didn't know who that girl is! I will keep reading your story, it sounds promising. As for your other review, yes I don't like Harry/Ginny pairings, they just don't seem right together. I'm actually writing a Draco/Ginny story because I was inspired by another story. As for Blaise/Ginny, it's hard to work with because Blaise isn't a built up character from the Harry Potter books, so I don't like to make the "minor" characters into "major" characters in my fictions. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter! Your fans seem nice! Lol. 

****

Serpent of Light ~ I must say, I haven't seen Holes, is it any good? Did this chapter make you like Sigma even more? Hehehe, I always intended her to be a seer, it wasn't just a brain wave. Thank you for your review, I hope you continue to read my story. 

****

purfectchild ~ Hermione and Ron were just in the kitchens for a pre-dinner snack, they didn't know about the eating contest going on until they saw the elf making the drinks, but yes, in a way they did save the day! If Ginny had drunk that, she probably would have died. A few people liked how I had Ginny flick Draco in the nose, I thought it seemed appropriate at the time! I hope you liked this chapter, and continue to read my story. 

****

the counter ~ I don't know what romances you are counting, but there sure isn't fifteen. I suggest you get your eyes checked, or take more care when reading stories.

****

SexySlytherinChick ~ Sorry you had a bit of a wait on this chapter! It was unintentional. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. The coleslaw was just something I had on my mind that people would find gross, not many teenagers like coleslaw. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter! The next one shouldn't be as long-a wait as this was. 

****

Tylah ~ Thank you for your review! This chapter probably wasn't as exciting as the last two, but still action packed all the same; Ginny's run in with Maria & Draco, Sigma being a seer, well, not much but still! I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

atrueslytherin ~ Well there's what happened next, so you won't have to wonder anymore! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I hope you liked it. 

****

Darcy16 ~ Sorry to keep you waiting with this chapter, I hope you liked it. Even though I didn't plan to have Draco in this chapter, I added him, just for effect. I hope this chapter was as good as you say my others were. Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

rose petel ~ As you can see, Draco got Ginny back for beating him. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

kura52 ~ Thank you for your words about my last chapter. There may be some hints of Harry/Ginny, but I don't like that pairing, they will simply be an obsticle in the way of Draco and Ginny eventually getting together. Sigma may be growing distant from Ginny in the next few chapters, because of the whole seer thing. I'm glad you liked Ginny beating Draco, but he got his own back in this chapter. Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I hope it was worth it. 

****

BIG BALLS ~ Thank you for the insult. I would like you not to review again if that is your attitude. 

****

horneytoad ~ If you think that, then why bother reading my story, and reviewing?

****

HarryzBabe ~ People are mean to Sigma because she's different, and they don't accept her. I'll try not to make my chapters too short, I don't like short chapters myself. Do you like that Sigma is a seer? I hope you continue reading!

****

Lee ~ I don't see Ginny saying that, it's not in her personality. I made her flick Draco's nose though, that should be sufficient for her. I hope you liked this chapter, and continue to read my story!

****


	10. Maria's Woes

Cast Away

****

Chapter 10 ~ Maria's Woes

The Quidditch season had started, three games already been played, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff versus Slytherin and Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. The match this coming Saturday was Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had come out to an early lead, winning both their games. If Slytherin won this match, it meant that the two rival houses would be equal first, that is, until they play eachother the Saturday after this one. 

Three weeks had passed since Ginny's last run in with Malfoy, and she hoped sincerely that she wouldn't have another private meeting with him sometime soon. Ginny walked with Sigma towards their usual spot in the Quidditch Stands, right at the back where not many people sat. Ginny soon found her eyes wandering around the Gryffindor section of the stands. She saw Phillip, Julia, Cassandra and Drew, but not Maria. She was no where to be seen, and Phillip looked slightly paler than usual. Ginny saw Harry and Ron looking anxious to be out on the Quidditch Pitch, as Madam Hooch came out to signal the teams to come out. 

Since Lee Jordan no longer attended Hogwarts, a new announcer had been appointed by Professor McGonagall, Seamus Finnegan. His heavy Irish accent boomed out as he introduced the Slytherin team. 

'THE SLYTHERIN TEAM, CAPTAIN DRACO MALFOY AS THEIR SEEKER, BLAISE ZABINI AS THE KEEPER, THE BEATERS ARE VINCENT CRABBE AND GREGORY GOYLE LEAVING LEANNE BRAYSHAW, JAMES McKENZIE AND JOEL REILEY AS THE CHASERS!' Seamus's voice boomed over the crowd. Ginny recognised James and Joel as seventh year Slytherins, and she wondered why they wouldn't be made captain over Draco, a sixth year. Leanne had her pretty long hair in curls, stationed above her head with some tiny braids weaved in here and there. Ginny wondered why Leanne would dress up so nicely just for a game of rough Quidditch. 

'Who wins this match, Sigma?' Ginny turned to her friend. Sigma seemed dazed, in some sort of trance. 'Sigma!' Ginny shook Sigma's shoulders. Sigma snapped out of her trance, and looked at Ginny with a plain expression. 'Who wins?' 

'I wish I didn't know…' Sigma said painfully. 'I used to love surprises, now I have none.' Ginny felt bad for her friend, but Sigma continued. 'I know the score, I know the exact moves, I can see it playing through my head.' Sigma closed her eyes and tried to block out the game which ran through her head. 

'Okay, try and think of something different, how about Maria? Where is she?' Ginny said. Sigma remained silent and Ginny knew she was concentrating hard. She scrunched her face up and looked troubled. After a few minutes had passed, Sigma opened her eyes and looked at Ginny. The first thing Ginny noticed was Sigma's left eye. A small slither of black had appeared on the very left hand side of Sigma's left eye. It was so small, barely noticeable, so Ginny thought nothing of it, however, she couldn't help but wonder, _it wasn't there before_. 

'I don't know.' Sigma said finally. 

'You don't know?' 

'I haven't had any premonitions about Maria for over three weeks.' Sigma told her, sighing. 

The game had long started, and the score was Slytherin on 60 and Ravenclaw on 20. Slytherin were a sure win in this match. Ravenclaw's seeker, Cho Chang, was not flying her best, however Malfoy ripped through the air in search of the Snitch. 

'BRAVE SAVE BY KEEPER MONICA GOODWIN OF THE RAVENCLAW TEAM!' Seamus was saying. 'THERE GOES A BLUDGER! HEADED STRAIGHT FOR SLYTHERIN SEEKER, BUT HE'S SEEN THE SNITCH! DRACO MALFOY HAS GONE AFTER THE SNITCH, NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE BLUDGER HURTLING STRAIGHT TOWARDS HIS -' _Crack!_ The impact of the bludger to Draco's spine was blood curtling. The whistle was blown and the game paused. Madam Hooch rushed onto the field where Malfoy's still body lay. She conjured up a stretched and rushed him off to the castle, obviously to the hospital wing. 

The remaining Slytherin team flew to the ground, and huddled, while the Ravenclaws did the same. Professor McGonagall took over the microphone. 

'STUDENTS, SLYTHERINS FORFIT THE MATCH, UNABLE TO CONTINUE LACKING A SEEKER AND CAPTAIN.' 

~***~

Ginny sat in the common room with Sigma that night. Julia and Cassandra came over to them, red eyed and looking like they hadn't used any of their regular beauty products for the last week. Julia looked particularly stressed. 

'Ginny, it's Maria, she's in the hospital wing, and she wants to talk to you,' Cassandra said, then narrowed her eyes when Sigma stood up with Ginny. 

'She doesn't want to see you, Sigma,' Julia told her. Ginny looked back at Sigma, worried about her friend, but Sigma just smiled meekly and sat down, closing her eyes. _She'll probably see the whole conversation anyway,_ Ginny thought with a discreet smile. 

When they reached the hospital wing, Ginny saw Maria, lying just a few beds from Malfoy. She silently hoped he was asleep. The three walked over to Maria's bed, Julia and Cassandra looking worried. Ginny noticed that Maria was pale, but other than that, she looked quite healthy. 

'Could you two please leave me to talk to Ginny alone?' Maria said softly. Julia and Cassandra nodded, and went to sit just outside the hospital wing. Ginny sat down next to Maria's bed and looked at her. 

'What's wrong with you Maria?' Ginny asked, and Maria's eyes dropped, not being able to face Ginny. 

'You were right, you know. A few weeks ago how you warned me about going to the dorms with Phillip, you were right,' Maria said, looking up to reveal silent tears streaking down her face. Ginny didn't know what to do, or say. A part of her expected this, Sigma _is _a seer, and her premonitions are quite accurate, or so Ginny believed. 

'So you're saying …?' Ginny was afraid to say it, she wanted to hear it from Maria herself. 

'Yes, okay? I'm pregnant!' Maria broke into silent sobs. Ginny sat there in silence, not knowing what to do. 

'I did warn you,' Ginny began, but stopped when Maria looked up at her, with the most evil look Ginny had ever seen Maria wear. 

'I know perfectly well that you _warned _me,' Maria spat. 'I just wanted Phillip to be happy,' She broke into small sobs again. 'I still want him to be happy.' She said between sobs. 'But he doesn't want any part of my life now, what will I do?' 

'It seems like he got more than he bargained for.' Ginny said. 'What will you do with that baby?' 

'I'm keeping it, I don't want to end a life because I'm too selfish.' Maria said. 'But it means Phillip will never come near me.' 

'Why?' 

'He doesn't want the responsibility, he thinks he's too young to be a dad, and he just wants to have "fun" with girls.' Maria choked up, but found the need to continue. 'He had his _fun _with me.' 

'It just seems so unlike Phillip to abandon you like this,' Ginny said. 

'Don't you think I know that?' Maria cried in hysterics. 'I thought he was a nice guy, but I was wrong! He mislead me, and I misjudged him horribly. I thought he would stick with me through anything.' 

'This is a big deal Maria, this is your life here, swimming around in your stomach. You'll never have freedom, you'll have to deal with a child for the rest of your life.' Ginny said softly. 'How do you expect to pay?' 

'I don't know! Stop saying this, I already know!' Maria screamed. 

'Sorry.' Ginny said, but Maria collapsed, too weak to argue or yell anymore. 

'I haven't even told my parents yet, they think I'm a good girl, _now_ look at me. They'll see a slut! A dirty whore who can't keep her legs closed.' Maria broke into tears again. Ginny felt rather bad for her. 

'You could get an abortion -' 

'Don't even say that word, it means murder.' Maria cut in. 

'Sorry.' 

'I just don't know what to do! Dumbledore won't want a pregnant girl running around school, and he most certainly won't want a baby here when it comes…' 

'When is the baby due?' Ginny asked. 

'Should be next June.' Maria answered. 

'Just before the holidays…'

'Yes.' Maria answered. 'If it was due during the holidays then there would be no problem, but my baby will come by the end of term.' 

'Sorry to hear that.' Ginny said.

'So what about you, Ginny? Got any special guy in your life? Colin Creevey seems to fancy you.' Maria said, quickly changing the subject. Ginny scrunched up her face. 

'No, I'm going to save myself for marriage.' Ginny told her. Maria's eyes instantly widened. 

'You could get married when you're twenty seven! How could you wait that long for something so good?' Maria asked, a dreamy look on her face. 

'Look at what happened to you, I don't want that until I have a husband to support me.' Ginny said sensibly. 

'Shut up.' Maria said bitterly. 

'I'll just be on my way then, I'll send Cassandra and Julia in.' Maria had no objections, so Ginny left the hospital wing. 

A few beds over, Malfoy lay awake, having just overheard the entire conversation between the two Gryffindors. 

__

So, the Brently Slut and the Virgin Weasley… Draco thought. _I'll get both of them in bed by the end of my sixth year. _He only wished he had someone to share his little promise with, but he couldn't tell even Blaise, because Draco knew that Blaise would run off to them and spoil his plans. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Orli-anon ~ If you think the last chapter was breif, this one was even more breif! Sorry! I wasn't saying I have no imagination, but I just don't like to have characters that aren't "built up" as my main characters, you know? Oh anyway… thanks for the review, and I hope you liked this chapter!

****

purfectchild ~ Maria's character will gradually change after this chapter. Being pregnant will effect her a great deal. Ginny is a nice, caring person, so she gave the warning even though Maria is not nice to her. Maria chose to ignore Ginny's warning, and look where it got her. Thank you for your review!

****

VoiCeZWiThiN ~ Yeah, being friends with Ginny and Sigma would be cool! I made the Slytherins cheat because, yes, it seemed like a Slytherin thing to do. I'm trying not to have any OOC's in this fiction as much as possible! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

rose petel ~ Sigma isn't coping with her gifts, she hates being a seer. That will most definitely play a larger part in the fiction later on, just think "the black in Sigma's eye". Just a little hint there! Ginny will be even lonlier when Sigma starts behaving strangly… another little hint! I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

Tylah ~ I hope you have a great time on your holidays!! There should be a lot of chapters waiting for you when you get home, if all goes to plan! Hehehe. Shame there won't be any internet or computers, I couldn't live for that long without the net! I look forward to hearing from you in a review when you get back! Have fun!

****

HarryzBabe ~ I didn't understand the first part of your review "That's very hippose=ritical of them! Everyone's different but, that's ok, it's only a story." I don't get it, lol. Sigma doesn't like her gifts, she's doing everything she can not to have them, and fighting a losing battle "the black slither in her eye". You'll just have to wait to see what happens with her. Did this chapter answer your questions about Maria? I hope you liked it. 

****

Tigeress61290 ~ Thank you for the compliments, and yes this most certainly is a Draco/Ginny fiction! I do try to update as soon as I can, I know I like a story which goes along quickly over one that doesn't! Thank you for putting me on your favourite stories list and author alert! I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

kura52 ~ Yes, it will be really sad when Sigma grows away from Ginny, it shouldn't be too long before that happens. I hope this chapter was what you expected! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Darcy16 ~ I will update as soon as I have the next chapter written, which shouldn't be too long between chapters! I'm glad you like the speed I'm writing this fiction at. Did you like Draco's promise at the end? I'm not to sure how that will go, but I'm hoping it will do well! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!


	11. Abandoned

Cast Away

~* Sorry, there is no Draco/Ginny in this **_chapter_**, but this is still an important chapter to the main plot. *~

****

Chapter 11 ~ **Abandoned**

Phillip had most certainly distanced himself from Maria, taking Drew with him. Drew was none too pleased with this, because it meant that he wouldn't be able to see Julia and Cassandra, who stuck with Maria like glue. Ginny noticed this more than she would have if she hadn't spoken to Maria last week in the hospital wing. 

Ginny and Sigma walked the long walk to Professor Trelawney's tower for Divination, a class they had with Maria and Julia. Maria sat down immediately, looking like she would throw up any moment. Ginny looked over at Sigma, carefully studying her features. Sigma looked paler than usual, her hair showing some signs of blonde regrowth, something that Ginny had never seen on her friend. Sigma normally took pride in her appearance, not letting regrowth peek through. There were circles under her eyes signalling sleep deprivation, and the black slither in her left eye had grown until it nearly reached her pupil. 

'Sigma, are you okay?' Ginny asked after Divination. Sigma had hardly said anything, and she usually would question Professor Trelawney to no end in Divination. 

'I'm fine, Ginny.' Sigma replied in a raspy voice. She would say nothing more. They walked to their next class, double Potions. All the Gryffindors were in this class. 

'Today, you will be learning how to make abortion potions,' Snape began. Maria choked. Snape glared at her. 'The instructions are on the board, I expect that certain students should pay extreme attention to get it right,' He said that last part to Maria, and some Slytherins looked at her and sniggered. 

'The whole school must know by now.' Ginny whispered to Sigma, who said nothing. Ginny looked away from Sigma, scanning the dungeon. Phillip was sitting in the far corner with Drew, Colin Creevey and the other Gryffindor fifth year, Alistair Boyle. Ginny knew that Colin and Alistair were always together, off on some adventure, and they were hardly ever around. Ginny felt someone staring at her, and she turned around to see Maria, a look on her face plainly said, _Get me out of here_.

~***~

Ginny sat by herself in the Gryffindor common room, completing her essay about abortion potions. She knew Snape had set this task because of Maria. Dumbledore must have been informed about Maria's situation. 

Sigma was no where to be found. Ginny assumed she was off with Hermione, but then she saw Ron, Harry and Hermione walk into the common room, busily talking about something. 

'Hermione, have you seen Sigma?' Ginny called out across the common room. Hermione looked thoughtful. 

'Actually, I did see her when we were on our way back from Quidditch practice… she was headed towards the Forbidden Forrest.' Hermione said, before falling back into her conversation with Ron and Harry. 

'The Forbidden Forrest? Hermione, why didn't you stop her?' Ginny said, interrupting Hermione's conversation. 

'Excuse me Ginny, but I am in a private conversation with Harry and Ron, incase you haven't noticed,' Hermione said bitterly, and turned her back on Ginny. 

Ginny was hurt from this, but she decided Sigma needed her. So she ran out of the common room, through the portrait and down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. Ginny sprinted across the grounds, ignoring Hagrid's call, and she slipped into the Forbidden Forrest. 

Ginny had never been in the Forrest herself, but she had heard Harry and Ron talk about it a lot. She had heard a great deal about giant spiders, werewolves, centaurs and unicorns. Ginny didn't like spiders, and she most certainly didn't want to run in with a werewolf either. She walked through the Forrest, her presence going un-noticed. For that she was thankful, however, Ginny hadn't seen Sigma yet. 

As she walked deeper into the Forrest, Ginny began to get scared. She looked to her right and saw a streak of black go past. Ginny froze, her heart beating quite fast. She spun around, only to see the same streak of black. Her eyes widened at the sight, the black streak was coming towards her. Ginny began to back away, but the figure disappeared. She stopped, confused, when something grabbed her shoulder from behind. Ginny jumped with shock and fear as she turned to face her attacker, a cloaked figure, face unseen. It withdrew it's hand from Ginny's shoulder, and she panicked as it drew the hood to reveal itself. 

'Sigma?' Ginny felt the relief wash over her like warm water as she saw her friend's face immerge from within the cloak. Sigma's hair looked bad, the black was a dull colour instead of shiney, and it looked tangled as if she hadn't brushed it in weeks, and the blonde regrowth was getting worse. The black in her left eye had taken over her pupil, almost leaving her whole eye black, even the white in her eye had started to turn black. The bags under her eyes steadily started to look like bruises, and her right eye was bloodshot. 

'What are you doing here, Ginny?' Sigma asked in a hoarse voice. 

'Sigma, you look terrible!' 

'Answer my question, why are you in the Forbidden Forrest?' 

'I was looking for you, I was worried about you Sigma.' Ginny told her. 

'What's there to worry about?' Sigma asked. 

'Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? You look terrible, and you haven't dyed your hair for far too long.' Ginny said. Sigma scowled. 

'It doesn't matter anymore, Ginny, nothing matters anymore.' 

'Why not?' Ginny pushed. 

'You wouldn't understand even if I told you.' Sigma said stubbornly. 

'Tell me, Sigma, aren't I your best friend anymore? You can trust me with your life.' Ginny said sadly. Sigma just looked at her, and disappeared in a streak of black. 'Great, _now _what?' Ginny yelled to the trees as if expecting a response. 

~***~

Hermione watched from her seat in the common room as Sigma walked in through the portrait, alone. She creased her brow, wondering where Ginny was. 

'Sigma,' Hermione called out. When Sigma didn't reply and kept walking towards the girls staircase, Hermione jumped up and grabbed Sigma by the arm, swinging her around to face Hermione. At the sight of Sigma's appearance, Hermione gasped. 'What's going on with you, Sigma?' She asked, sincerely concerned. 

'Nothing, I'm fine.' Replied Sigma. Hermione narrowed her eyes. 

'You _will _tell me what is bothering you, or I will go to the Headmaster.' Hermione threatened. She believed she was doing the right thing by Sigma, but the small girl quickly angered, her right eye flashing as the black grew in her left eye. 

'I _do not_ have to take orders from you, _Granger_,' Sigma bellowed, her hair whipping out behind her. Hermione could swear there was a blackness around the air as Sigma spoke. Everyone who was in the Gryffindor common room had paused what they were doing to see what was going on with Sigma and Hermione. Ron came over cautiously, not wanting to upset Sigma while she looked like that. 

'Sigma,' Ron said in a soothing voice, 'Where is Ginny?' Sigma's hair settled back to it's matted tangles, and her right eye went dull once more. 

'She's in the Forbidden Forrest,' 

'What?' 

'Excuse me?' 

'You _left _my sister in the Forbidden Forrest, all alone?' Ron cried, looking to see who the other people who spoke were, Hermione and Harry. 

'I'll get my cloak,' Harry said, and disappeared up the boys stairs. 

'She was asking too many questions,' Sigma responded to the looks she was getting from Hermione and Ron. 'I'm tired, don't you dare try to question me,' and with that, Sigma followed Harry's lead, disappearing up the girls stairs. 

~***~

'Ouch, do you have to stand so close?' Ron grumbled as Hermione stood on his foot for the fifth time. They were headed towards the Forbidden Forrest under Harry's invisibility cloak, when Harry spotted Hagrid, dragging someone unconscious from the Forrest. 

'Hagrid!' Harry called out, slipping from the cloak and running towards Hagrid. 

''Arry? What are yer doin' out 'ere at this time o' night?' Hagrid brushed some twigs from his beard and placed the figure on the soft grass. 

'Ginny!' Harry cried, Hermione and Ron immediately stepped out from the cloak and knelt beside Ginny. 

'She found Grawp,' Hagrid explained. Ron looked at him wide eyed. 

'What happened?' 

'Well, she had wandered into Aragog's home, but ran in the other direction when she saw a spider, Grawpy found her.' Hagrid beamed. 

'How did she come to be unconscious?' Harry asked, pacing back and forward beside Ginny's still form, occasionally stopping to check if she stirred. 

'Must'a been from shock,' Hagrid guessed. 

'Poor Ginny, I wonder how long Sigma left her out there by herself,' Hermione said. 

'We should get her into the hospital wing,' Ron suggested, lifting his sister carefully. 'Thank you for finding her Hagrid,' Ron gave a quick smile, and the three headed back to the castle. 

~***~

Ginny woke to find herself, once again, in the Hospital Wing. Her eyes were fuzzy, and the last thing she could remember was seeing a large spider in the Forbidden Forrest. She had no idea how she'd gotten back. Looking around, she saw one small get well card, and a bunch of yellow flowers in a vase too large for the contents. 

'Ginny, you're awake!' Ginny looked around to see who had spoken, and she saw Maria, lying in the bed next to hers. 

'Hello Maria, what are you in here for?' 

'I'm having some baby problems,' Maria said. 

'Oh, what's wrong with it?' 

'Nothing, but it's getting very powerful, meaning that sometimes it upsets my body.' Maria explained. 

'Okay, do you know if it's a boy or girl?' Ginny asked. 

'I don't want to know, but I do…' Maria said. 

'You do want to know, but you don't want to know?' Ginny asked, confused. 

'No, I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl, but I do know what it is.' Maria told her. 

'How do you know?' Ginny asked. 

'Madam Pomfrey told me that my baby is an Elemental, and only girls can be Elementals.' Maria said. 

'An Elemental? Maria, they are really rare,' Ginny said in awe. 

'Which is why I have decided to give her up,' Maria said sadly. 

'You're having an abortion?' Ginny cried. 

'No, I'm going to have my baby, then give her to a foster home.' Maria told her. 

'Why? That would be depriving her of knowing her parents, which is wrong.' Ginny said. 

'You ask why… I am still a kid, this baby is a powerful one, and I don't have the strength to take care of her while I am this age.' Maria explained. 

'I thought you wanted to keep your baby.' 

'I do, more than anything,' Maria sighed. 'I just can't. I've thought this through, and I think it's for the best. The child would have a lousy life if I raised her, so I'm going to give her up so that she may have a lovely life.' 

Ginny said nothing, she didn't know that Maria could be that considerate. On the other hand, Ginny was glad about her decision to wait until marriage, that way she would never be put in Maria's position. 

~***~

Ginny had been out of the Hospital Wing for three hours, and was already wondering where Sigma was. She decided to wait until night when Sigma came into the dorms. Sigma was hardly seen around, she didn't go to meals, she regularly skipped classes, apart from Divination, and was hardly around in the Gryffindor common room anymore. It was rare for her to be seen. 

As nightfall came to pass, Ginny found herself sitting in the girls dorms alone. Maria was still in the Hospital Wing, and Ginny assumed that Julia and Cassandra were with her. Ginny lay in her bed with the curtains pulled closed. She heard a small click, signalling that the door had been opened. Footsteps could be heard rummaging around the room, so Ginny peeked out of a small gap in the curtains where they met at the corner. 

Sigma was rummaging through her trunk, she obviously thought the room was empty. Ginny slid out of her bed and crept to the door. She clicked it shut. Sigma snapped her head up from her trunk. 

'So, Ginny, what are you doing in here?' Sigma asked, as if it was not Ginny's right to be in the room. 

'You always seem to ask me that when I'm in the same place you are.' Ginny frowned, and began to wonder if Sigma even liked her anymore. 

'It seems like you're following me,' Sigma said carelessly, and Ginny fumed. 

'That's an unfair prediction!' 

'I am a seer, I know what goes on Ginny, don't play dumb with me.' Sigma said. As she spoke, Ginny noticed that her whole left eye, including the white part, was deathly black, making it look hollow. 

'What is going on with your eye?' Ginny dared to ask. 'Can you see from it?' Sigma looked directly at her, and Ginny could feel Sigma searching her mind. 'Get out of my head!' Ginny finally screamed, unable to take it anymore. 

__

I know what you're thinking, I can see it when I see you. I am beyond help. As for my eye, the black represents my mental and physical struggle. The more I try to be normal, the blacker it becomes, making me even more of a freak. I can see from it, but the world is seen to me in flames. My right eye sees as you do, but it too will soon become black. I sense that your worry decreases as I continue to shunt you out. I am no longer myself, and I fear that I will harm you if I keep you close. I do not want to bring you, or anyone else to harm, that is why I am avoiding everyone as much as possible. I fear I may do something that I would not have control over. My temper has reached it's end, I no longer am in control of my actions. For that I am sorry. The only thing keeping me sane is my mind, explaining why I can speak freely to you this way. Before I disappear, I would just like you to know that I meant none of this. Just know that I am sorry. Have a great life, our paths may cross sooner than you think. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Serpent of Light ~ I'll see if I can get around to seeing that movie! Thank you for your nice review, we now know most of what is going on in Sigma's head, but will have to wait for a while before we find out what she's doing, and where she's going. As for Malfoy, I want him in character as much as possible! I hate OOC Malfoy! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

****

atrueslytherin ~ I do try to update as soon as I can, I hope it's not too frustrating. I hope you liked this chapter, it is the longest chapter in this fiction so far, hopefully they will progressively get longer. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

****

rose petal ~ Hehehe, I will give hints if people ask for them! I have most of the story formulated in my head, so it should all turn out the way I want it to. I hope the last part explained about the blackness in Sigma's eye. She's struggling with herself, not wanting to be who she is. Also, it explained why she's distanced herself from Ginny. Oh, and Sigma doesn't really care about Draco at the moment, she's basically having a nervous breakdown, and trying to shut out her visions. I hope that helped! Did you like this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

the counter ~ If you are only reading my fiction to lie about the amount of romances on one page, please don't, it's rather annoying. 

****

VoiCeZWiThiN ~ Yes, Maria should have listened to Ginny, but she got herself into this mess, and she's trying to clean it up, as you read in this chapter. I agree that abortion is murder, which is mainly why I made Maria so against it. I'm sorry that Draco didn't show up in this chapter, but it was an important chapter all the same. I hope you liked it. 

****

Miss Raynbow ~ Lol, pun excused! Yes, it is an important part of Sigma's "Transaction". No, Sigma will not fall in with Draco, just thought I'd say it bluntly! Thanks for guessing all the same. I hope you liked this chapter!

****

purfectchild ~ Yes, it does make you feel bad for Maria… oh yes, Draco is planning something! You never know the outcome quite yet, I still don't have that completely worked out myself, but I assure you, it will be unexpected. About Sigma having visions, she's not having them all the time, she couldn't see where Maria was at the Quidditch game, remember? I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

Kelei ~ I appreciate your support with my fiction! Fluff will not play much of a role in this fiction for a very long time, obstacles must be overcome before Ginny and Draco even _think _about getting together! Sorry if that's not what you would like, I'll put in some parts where Draco tries to seduce Ginny, okay? Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!

****

Tigeress61290 ~ Hehehe, I just finished watching my Lord of the Rings Dvd's, gotta love Gollem! Don't worry, I'll keep giving you chapters! I hope you liked this chapter!

****

kura52 ~ I'm kind of glad someone expected Maria to get pregnant! Yes, she was quite an idiot for not listening to Ginny, but she didn't think that Sigma really had a premonition about it, she just thought Ginny was trying to wreck her fun. Well, she's decided to give up her baby, but her mind may change… Draco deserved to be hit in the back with a bludger! He's _in character _in my story, therefore he deserved pain! (even though I love Malfoy!) I hope you liked this chapter too! 

****

HarryzBabe ~ Don't worry, I'm easily confused! I'm glad the chapter helped your questions about Maria, and if you have any more questions about my story I will be glad to help them get answered (either in an authors note to you, or in the chapter itself). Questions help me add answers into chapters, so by all means, keep them coming!


	12. Invasions

Cast Away

~* Merry Christmas everyone! *~

****

Chapter 12 ~ Invasions

The holidays were fast approaching, and Sigma had left Ginny distraught. Her last words played over in Ginny's head for weeks after Sigma had gone. She understood why her friend had to leave, but Ginny didn't accept it. She had become silent again, not speaking to anyone, avoiding everyone, even Maria, who constantly grew to need her. 

Ginny wasn't going home for the holidays as she had decided before coming to Hogwarts. Ron was going home, so were Julia, Drew, Phillip and Maria. Alistair, Colin, Cassandra, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and some first years would be the only Gryffindors staying over Christmas. 

Some people had come to Ginny asking where Sigma had gone, but to be honest, Ginny had no clue where her friend was. She hated being asked where Sigma was, it only reminded her of the last night she had seen Sigma. 

Ginny was on her way to the last class before holidays started, History of Magic, her least favourite class. Normally, she would sit there and talk to Sigma the whole lesson, but in the past few weeks, Sigma was no longer there. Ginny fought back her tears as she took her seat in the back, alone. 

It wasn't long before Ginny had company, Maria. She walked over to Sigma's regular seat and sat down. Ginny looked at her, wondering why Maria was sitting with her. 

'Hi Ginny, how have you been?' She asked, genuinely concerned. Ginny gave a small smile, but said nothing. Maria continued, 'I'm sorry about Sigma, it must have been hard,' Ginny sighed. 'Well, I'm going back on the train tomorrow, I have to tell my parents about the baby,' Maria put a hand on her stomach. She was only seven weeks pregnant, nothing showed yet. 

'Good luck with that,' Ginny said, not really paying much attention to what Maria was saying. Maria sighed heavily. 

'Look Ginny, there's nothing you, or _anyone else_, can do or say that will bring her back! She's gone, why can't you accept that?' Maria hissed. 

'I know she'll come back,' Ginny said sternly. 

'How do you know? She could be halfway across the world by now!' 

'Just something she said…' Ginny trailed off, not really wanting to repeat Sigma's words. 

'What did she say?' Maria pushed. Ginny took a deep breath. She had memorised Sigma's whole speech. 

'She said a lot of things, but the thing that she said which made me realise that she'll be back is _"Our paths will cross sooner than you think."_.' Ginny told her. 

'How do you know she doesn't mean in a month? A year? Ten years?' Maria argued. 

'Shut up Maria, this pregnancy has made you deluded,' Ginny snapped. Maria's eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. 

'After _all _I've done for you, _this _is how you treat me?' Maria said shrilly. 

'All you've done for me? What have you done for me? You ignored my warning about this stupid pregnancy in the first place, you yelled at me, you treated me like dirt, you seem to cling to me because Phillip has left you, _that_, Maria, is what _you _have done for _me_.' Ginny said. Maria scowled, picked up her books and quills, and went over to Cassandra and Julia.

~***~

Draco Malfoy paced in the Slytherin common room. He knew that Maria Brently would be easy to get in bed, but Ginny was a tougher challenge. Draco made up his mind to get Maria first, get the easy out of the way so that he may have more time to work on Ginny. 

Draco may have been big headed, but he certainly wasn't stupid. He, along with the rest of the school, had noticed that Sigma Orionis had mysteriously disappeared, leaving one very depressed Ginny. Draco knew that Ginny would be vulnerable to any support, as the Gryffindors hadn't been very supportive towards her. 

__

Maybe I'll get Ginny first, and leave Maria 'til later, Draco thought with a smirk. He stalked over to the Slytherin notice board, and scribbled his name down to stay the holidays. He had been keeping his eyes and ears open, and knew that Ginny would be staying for the holidays. Draco had also found out that Ginny's brother wouldn't be staying, an added bonus. However, Granger and Potter were staying. Draco was certain that they wouldn't take care of Ginny that much, so he was in with a clear shot, so to speak. 

~***~

Ginny went with Harry and Hermione to see Ron off at the Hogsmeade station. She was a little sad that her brother didn't want to stay the holidays, but Ginny knew it would be better without him. 

'I'll send your Christmas present by owl,' Ginny whispered to her brother as she hugged him goodbye. 

'Have a great Christmas everyone,' Ron smiled and boarded the train. Ginny's heart sunk as she realised this would be the first Christmas since she'd come to Hogwarts that she would be spending without Ron. Ginny hated that idea. She had never felt so alone, her best friend gone, her brother gone, she had no one to talk to over the holidays. Ginny sighed as she watched the train pull out of the station and chug off. This would be a long holidays. 

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Ginny noticed how empty it looked. Cassandra sat with Colin and Alistair, Hermione with Harry, and the bunch of first years huddled in a corner. Ginny sat alone. She longed for Sigma's company, but she knew this was impossible. Sigma wasn't herself, and she needed space, time to sort herself out, _hopefully _sort herself out. The fire was roaring, and the wind whistled through the one open window. 

Ginny stood and headed for the portrait hole, but she stopped when she heard Harry's voice. 

'Where are you going, Ginny?' He asked. 

'No where, just for a walk around the lake… alone.' Ginny told him. 

'Why?' Hermione asked. 

'I need to clear my head,' Ginny told her. Hermione didn't argue. She remembered how bad Sigma looked that night when Ginny had been left in the Forbidden Forrest, and knew that it was for the best Sigma was gone. 

'Oh, Ginny, before you go, take this,' Harry handed her a blank piece of parchment. 

'What is it?' Ginny gave a confused look. 

'This,' Harry dramatically paused, 'is the Marauders Map.' He finished. 

'What does it do?' Ginny asked, never having seen the map before this moment. Harry took out his wand and tapped the parchment. 

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good,' He said. Ginny watched the lines snake over the parchment as if it were a spiderweb. Ginny gasped. 

'This is amazing!' She cried, noticing a dot labelled Severus Snape moving through the dungeons near his office. 'It tells you exactly where everyone is! How did you get it?' 

'Fred and George gave it to me in my third year,' Harry explained. 

'Yes, it does seem like something they would have,' Ginny said thoughtfully. 

'My father and his friends made it when they were at Hogwarts,' Harry told her. 

'Really?' Ginny asked. 'How coincidental that you come to have it in your possession,' She said. 

'That's what I thought too!' Hermione piped up. 

'Well, I'll be off now, thanks for this Harry, I'll give it back later,' Ginny folded the map and exited the common room. 

As she walked the many corridors of Hogwarts, Ginny followed the teachers dots on the map. She thought this would be a safe way not to be caught. However, another dot emerged walking the hallways, Draco Malfoy. 

__

Must be out for a midnight prowl, Ginny thought bitterly. She silently hoped that he would be caught and given a detention, but didn't let him deter her from getting to the lake. 

Ginny was in the Entrance Hall when she stopped watching the map, she figured it would be safe her almost being outside. She folded the map and slid it into her pocket. Just as she was walking past the sloped hallway leading to the Slytherin dungeons, someone stepped out in front of her, blocking her path. Ginny was about to scream, when the person put a gloved hand over her mouth. He stepped back so that Ginny could get a look at him, Draco Malfoy. 

'Malfoy! What are you doing!' Ginny hissed as he took his hand away from her mouth. 

'I thought you could use some company,' Malfoy said sarcastically. 

'I don't _want _your company you slimey git,' Ginny said bravely. Malfoy grabbed her by the wrist rather hard, and pulled her so that her eyes were mere inches from his. 

'Whether you want my company or not, you have it.' Malfoy said through his teeth, and pushed Ginny away. She tumbled and lost her balance, falling in a heap on the floor. 

'I hate you!' Ginny cried, propping herself up with her hand, her face flushed and red.

'Of course you do,' Malfoy said in a dangerously low tone. 

'What do you want?' Ginny said, standing up. Draco narrowed his eyes. 

'All I want is to get to know your friend, Maria, a little better,' Draco winked at her. Ginny looked shocked. 

'You can't be _serious_? Maria?' Ginny seemed a little offended by this. She had thought he had been interested in her, all though she would have turned him down. Ginny would have had fun denying Malfoy, but here he was, asking about Maria. 

'I've heard things about her, and I would like to talk to her, get to know her,' _Sleep with her, _Draco smiled at his thoughts. 

'Maria is a very foolish girl, but not stupid enough to go for someone like you.' Ginny said firmly. 

'Are you sure?' Draco said in a smooth tone, and he stalked away, leaving Ginny puzzled. 

After that, Ginny didn't feel like going for a walk around the lake, she checked the large grandfather clock in the Entrance Hall, 1.37am. Ginny decided to call it a night, and she headed back to the Gryffindor common room. 

Waiting for her, sitting on one of the lounge chairs, was Cassandra. When Ginny walked into the common room, Cassandra jumped up to meet her. 

'Hi… Cassandra,' Ginny seemed surprised that Cassandra would be waiting for her. 

'Ginny, I need to talk to you, it's about Sigma,' Cassandra said, she sounded urgent. Ginny's expression changed from confusion to seriousness, and worry. 

'What about her?' 

'Let's sit down,' Cassandra suggested, leading Ginny to the same lounge chair that Cassandra had been waiting for her on. Ginny followed Cassandra's lead and sat down. 

'What's wrong? What about Sigma? Do you know something?' Ginny questioned immediately. Cassandra slowly shook her head. 'What then?' Ginny yelled frantically. 

'I was asleep, dreaming about a Hogsmeade trip. I was in Zonko's Joke Shop when Sigma came in, she looked a lot like she did just before she left, except her hair was more tattered with more dull blonde regrowth, and her right eye was half black.' Cassandra began. 

'This was in your dream?' Ginny asked, and Cassandra nodded. 'She must have the ability to infiltrate dreams… she could have been trying to reach me, but I wasn't asleep!' Ginny cried. 

'She didn't say anything, but it looked like she was looking for something important.' Cassandra stated. Ginny creased her brow. 

'What could she have been looking for?' Ginny asked, more of a thought than a question expecting an answer. 

'No clue,' Cassandra said. 'I just thought you should know that she was in my dream, unwillingly.' Ginny nodded. 

'Thank you for telling me, I'm going to sleep, just incase Sigma tries to reach me.' With that, Ginny left Cassandra, and headed up the girls staircase. 

~***~

'I couldn't get it Master,' Said an all too familiar voice. A bony fist slammed onto a large oak desk. 

'I suggest you _get it _then,' Came the reply. Sigma nodded, and lowered her head, she had failed one too many times, and was lucky to still be alive. 

'It keeps relocating though, this time it went to a dream… sir, the gem knows it's being hunted,' Sigma said. 

'Silence! I do not wish to hear your mindless rabble, you _will _get me that stone.' 

'And if I don't…?' Sigma asked timidly. The man she spoke to turned around, an evil crin plastered on his boney, white face. 

'Then you will be used as its replacement,' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

the counter ~ I really don't care about whatever it is you are trying to do or say, just leave me alone, okay?

****

VoiCeZWiThiN ~ Thanks! Yes, Hermione was a little catty, but she was supposed to act that way. Yes, poor Sigma, but keep in mind that she doesn't have control over her actions. Maria made a sensible choice in her situation, whether that choice stands or not, we will have to wait and see. Thank you for reading and reviewing! 

****

Tigeress61290 ~ I can't wait til LOTR3 comes out here! Two more days! Anyway, thanks for your review, did you like this chapter? I hope so, and I know that the last part is a little confusing, but it will become more obvious as chapters progress! 

****

Darcy16 ~ Thank you for thanking me for thanking you for reviewing! Hehehe. Draco is beginning to put his plan into action, getting Ginny confused is something he wants to happen. That way she will be confused and upset (about Sigma). I hope you liked this chapter!

****

rose petel ~ I'm glad you liked that chapter, don't hesitate to ask any questions or guess what you think might happen, because it is a big help to me! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

amanda2680 ~ Everyone has different views of Blaise, since JK never actually said whether the character is male or female. I chose to make Blaise male in this story so that Draco can have an underling. Sorry for the confusion!

****

HarryzBabe ~ Oh yes it is sad what Sigma is going through, nothing that should happen to a fifteen year old girl! Poor thing. She is lost and confused, and she doesn't have control over her actions anymore, so we can forgive her for some things which she may do… thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter! 


	13. Enslavement

Cast Away

~* Merry Christmas everyone! It appears that a lot of people want to know about Sigma, and are concerned about her, so I'll put in what's going on with Sigma. If you don't know how she sees, or can't picture it, just watch The Matrix: Revolutions. *~

****

Chapter 13 ~ Enslavement

Sigma had been enslaved, partly by her own will. She figured that a physical enslavement would be ten times better than the mental enslavement which was slowly driving her to madness. Her hair was now down past her waist, and she hadn't taken care of it in months. Someone slipped a small tray under the bottom of the door. Sigma stared directly through the hard steel door until she heard a scream, and a tinkling noise of a knife dropping onto the tray. She rushed to the door, crouched down and pulled the tray through, knife and all. 

Sigma looked into the blade of the knife and saw herself, for the first time in nearly three months. Both her eyes were hollow black, making her see the world in fiery flames. At the sight, Sigma threw the knife across the room. It landed with a clatter in the corner. She then remembered why she wanted the knife in the first place. 

'_Accio_,' The knife sped towards Sigma, and she caught it skilfully. Using the sharp, curved blade, Sigma began to slice at her hair, cutting the black off leaving her natural dull blonde. Her hair fell uneven, to her shoulders, and it spilled around her face as she glared daggers at the wall. 

She was wearing a black robe that she had acquired when she'd left Hogwarts. It matched her eyes. Since Sigma had found out she was a Seer, she had become low-maintenance. Sigma snapped her head up as there was a bang on the door, then a pause as whoever it was noticed the body which Sigma had disposed of to gain possession of the knife. 

'You have been summoned,' The man said quickly. There was a click as the lock was released, and Sigma heard footsteps running in the opposite direction that she was to go. Sigma stepped over the body and headed to her master's office. 

'Sigma, my dear, you are looking well,' Hissed a voice from behind the large desk. Sigma took a few steps into the room so that she was nearer to whom she was speaking to. She said nothing. 'I trust you know where the gem is,' 

'I have been following it every time it re-locates,' Sigma replied. 

'Would you be so kind as to tell me where it is, so that you _don't screw it up again!_' 

'I'm not telling you anything, but let me reassure you, you cannot get this gem without me, so don't bother with empty threats,' Sigma said coldly, and cocked her head. 

'No, you're right,' He said, his voice dangerously low. 'But I suggest you do as I say, _if you value your former friend's lives_,' 

On the outside, Sigma was calm and cool, but on the inside, she was crying, and screaming for help, unable to stop herself from doing or saying anything. 

'I do not value their lives,' Sigma replied. The man narrowed his eyes threateningly. 

'So prove it, kill them, and I will release you from your cell.' 

'You know as well as I do, that I could break free from that puny cell if I wanted to.' Sigma replied. 

'So you _do _value their lives, I will have them killed by someone if not by you.' Sigma raised a hand. 

'I will do it.' She said abruptly. The man gave an icy grin. 

'Then I shall make you my most loyal and trusted servant,' He said. Sigma grew tired of this, she refused to be anyone's servant. Her hair whipped back and her black eyes flashed. She appeared to grow, and the same eerie blackness surrounded her that night in the Gryffindor common room when she was talking to Hermione. _Gryffindor - Hermione… _Sigma's thoughts turned briefly to her long forgotten life, but quickly came back into focus as she realised where she was. 

'I am servant to _nobody_!' Sigma yelled, her voice echoing through the room and out into the halls. She gave the man a look as if to say _Just try to challenge me_. The man, however, remained quite calm. 

'You're disturbed, child.' He said. 

'Do _not _tell me what I am! I know what I am, and you have _no _right to alter my life, none _whatsoever_!' Sigma roared. The man simply took out his wand. 

'_Crucio_,' 

Sigma keeled over in pain, wincing as the curse spread through her body like a bolt of lightning. However, Sigma made no sounds, she would not give him the satisfaction. Just as sudden as the curse had come apon her, it was lifted. Sigma crouched on the floor, not moving, not looking up. 

'Get up,' He barked. 

'No.' Sigma replied, raising her head to glare into his snake eyes. 

'I said _get up!_' 

'I said _NO!_' Sigma roared in reply. She felt another bolt of pain as she was hit with the crutacius curse once more. She fought it, and stood up, the pain still ripping through her body. The curse was lifted. 

'You are strong my dear,' 

'Not for you,' Sigma replied, pure hatred behind her words. 'I was a fool to come to you in the first place! You can get the damn Ministerial Gem _some other way_!' His eyes widened, he would not give her up without a fight. 

'Then it shall be,' He said, caressing his wand gently. 

'What?' Sigma asked. 

'I hope you had time to say good-bye to your foolish friends,' With those words, the scenery changed, and Sigma was back in her cell, but it wasn't her cell, it was another. Sigma's eyes darted around the cell and rested on the steel door. She tried to read through it, but found her premonitions were bound to this room. 

__

I hope you like it, Sigma dear, said a disembodied voice. _It is my own personal creation, nothing but the best for my best warriors. _

'What are you doing to me?' Sigma screamed, grasping at her skull. 

__

You will stay here until I have done away with your precious friends, the voice continued. 

'That's reassuring.' Sigma muttered. 'I'll be here forever before you get your filthy hands on my friends,' 

~***~

Ginny woke from her sleep, tossing and turning, in a pool of cold sweat. She had not had one decent night's sleep since Sigma had abandoned her. The holidays just made things worse, there were less people around for Ginny to talk to, less people to take her mind off Sigma. 

She had woken from the same nightmare she had been having for weeks, Sigma leaving. The scene played in her head over and over, and Ginny began to wonder if she could have done anything to save Sigma from herself. _No, there wasn't anything I could have done, _Ginny told herself. She forced herself out of bed, like she did most mornings, and headed down to the common room. 

Ginny was greeted by Harry, who was sitting on the floor in his usual position. 

'Good morning Ginny, Hermione is off in the Library, and I didn't feel like going with her. 

'Morning,' Ginny said dully. 'I thought Hermione was going home for the Christmas holidays? What happened to that?' 

'She changed her mind, her boyfriend had a change of plans,' 

'Oh, fair enough,' Ginny said dully, looking around the room, almost ready to cry. Harry stood up to face her, and he put his hands on her shoulders. 

'Ginny, you _have_ to stop this, Sigma is gone, you need to move on with your life.' Harry told her, looking into her eyes with concern. Ginny shoved Harry's hands off her, and jumped back abruptly. Her eyes flashed at Harry's concerned face. 

'You don't understand!' Ginny yelled. 'No one understands!' 

'Then explain it to me,' Harry said softly. Ginny let herself collapse into a tight ball on the floor. 'Ginny?' Harry said, concerned. He crouched next to Ginny and put a hand on her back, which was exposed. 'Are you okay?' Ginny's sobs could be heard. 

'No,' She said, her voice shaky. 

'Come on, up,' Harry said, putting his arms around Ginny and lifting her off the floor. He spun her around to face him, seeing that Ginny's eyes were bloodshot and puffy. He hated seeing her like that. 

'It's not fair,' She whimpered, nearly letting herself fall over, but Harry caught her. Ginny cried into his chest. 'My best friend leaves, I have no one else!' She sobbed even harder. Harry was about to say something, but Ginny kept going, 'Everyone takes me for granted, one day I won't be here anymore, they'll all miss me,' 

'Ginny, no one takes you for granted, at least, _I _don't.' 

Ginny pulled back to face Harry, to look at his smiling, caring face. She didn't want that, she didn't want to be pitied by Harry. What Ginny needed, and wanted, was someone who would care about her, but not pity her, not Harry, Harry pitied her. She pushed him away. 

'I have to go,' Ginny said quietly and left Harry standing in the middle of the common room. 

She rushed down to the Great Hall, looking around to see it mostly empty. There were a few teachers sitting at their table, and some Ravenclaw and Slytherin students. Apart from them, the Great Hall stood empty. _Damn_, Ginny thought. She had been looking for someone, someone that she didn't see in the Great Hall. Turning slowly, Ginny bumped into someone and they both hurtled to the ground. 

'Watch where you're going will you?' Said a snide voice. Ginny snapped her head up. 

'If you didn't sneak up behind me, maybe I wouldn't run into you, Malfoy,' Ginny said in response. Draco looked up, for the first time seeing who he had run into. He scowled. Ginny stood up, brushed herself off and offered Draco her hand. Draco narrowed his eyes. 

'Are you insane, Weasley?' Draco helped himself up. 'I don't need your help,' He stood to face her. _Malfoy doesn't pity me, _Ginny thought with a smile. 'What are you smiling about?' Malfoy scowled. Ginny cocked her head. 

'Nothing,' She said, her smile widening. Draco shook his head slowly. 

'Weasleys…' He muttered before turning to leave. 

'Oh Malfoy,' Ginny called after him. Draco turned around. 

'What?' He snapped. Ginny smiled at him sickly sweet. 

'Maria doesn't want you,' Ginny said, and sauntered over to him, 'but I can tell you someone who does,' She whispered in his ear. Draco's eyes widened, his plan was working. 

'That's nice,' Draco said, pushing Ginny away gently, before he turned and walked into the Great Hall. 

~***~

Sigma threw herself at the wall again, bruises showing on her delicate skin. She screamed in frustration and started punching the rough bricks. 

__

Are you ready to obey me? Asked the voice. Sigma looked up at the ceiling. 

'You wish!' She cried, and started flinging her fragile form against the walls again. 'Let me out!' She screamed. 'Let me out!' Over and over, those three words she repeated before they claimed her, and she fell to the floor in a heap. 

__

You're pathetic…weak and pathetic, did you know? Said the voice. 

'You're crazy! Vile and repulsive! Did you know?' Sigma mocked. All of a sudden, the door swung open to reveal the man who had held her captive. He was not at all vile and repulsive, but rather cute. He was tall, had sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes, couldn't have been more than seventeen years old. Sigma looked up at him slowly. He wandered into the room cautiously. 

'My name is Hank,' He said slowly, tilting Sigma's head up to face him. She stood up slowly, believing that this guy wouldn't hurt her. 

'I'm Sigma,' She said. 

'I know, I have been waiting out here for days trying to figure out how to open this door, I'll tell you, Voldemort certainly made it hard to get open,' Hank said. 

'Thank you,' Sigma replied. 

'Anytime sweet cheeks,' Hank said, flashing her a smile. 'So what is a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?' 

'I'm not such a nice girl,' Sigma told him. Hank looked shocked. 

'Surely you have been held capture because of some unknown reason?' Hank asked. _You're stupider than you look… _Sigma thought sadly. 

'No, I'm in here because I refused to kill my friends,' Sigma told him blankly. Hank smiled.

'That's good, ain't it? Who are your friends?' Hank said. 

'Well, there's Ginny, then Harry, Hermione and Ron,' Sigma said. 'That's about all I guess,' Hank's eyes widened with shock. 

'Hermione, Granger?' 

'Yes, how do you know her?' 

'I met her over the summer, nice girl,' Hank said. Sigma turned her black eyes to the floor. 

'You're the guy she's been talking about non-stop, aren't you?' 

'I dunno,' Hank replied. 

'Are you with Hermione?' 

'Nah, does she think I am? I just had a little fun with her, that's all,' Hank said, almost innocently. 

'She thinks you're her world,' Sigma replied. 

'Really? Hermione's a gal that I wouldn't ever be drawn to, I mean, she's a bookworm, yeah?' 

'So why did you spend so much time with her?' Sigma asked. 

'Rebound, yeah?' Hank said. 'I had a gal, Tiffany, and she left me for my mate Callum,'

'Oh, that's too bad,' Sigma said, not really interested. 

'Tiff got real jealous of Herm,' Hank continued. 

'Look, Hank, I don't care! Are you going to get me out of here or what?' Sigma said shrilly, cutting Hank's story short. 

'Certainly Miss, I'll just take you to Voldemort now,' Hank said. 'He sent me to get you, yeah?' Sigma sighed heavily. 

When they got to Voldemort's office, Hank put a comforting hand on Sigma's shoulder before leaving her alone, to face the wizard. 

'Come in, Sigma dear,' Called a voice. Sigma walked into the office, and took a seat. 

'What do you want now?' 

'I want you to kill those who you call your friends, I cannot make an appearance in Hogwarts,' He said simply. Sigma narrowed her eyes. 

'What will I get for it?' Sigma asked, and he looked at her with an evil smirk. 

'Why, you get Hank,' He said happily, like Sigma getting Hank was the best possible outcome. Without warning, his eyes narrowed dangerously. 'I should mention that if you disobey my orders, I will not hesitate to place you under the Imperius Curse,' 

'Is there a better prize?' Sigma said dismissively. 'I mean, Hank _is _kind of dumb,' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Darcy16 ~ Thank you for your review! I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

Kelei ~ Sorry for all the cliffhangers, lol, did you like this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Darkslayer ~ Yes, I am from Australia, in Queensland actually. I didn't watch much Idol, but everyone knew about it anyway, so I just figured I'd use Shannon's name. Yes, and the book's name is actually a song by Rory O'Donnell, he's a guy that used to go to my school. I hope you like my story. Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

VoiCeZWitHiN ~ Yes, Sigma is looking for something, the Ministerial Gem. You will learn more about that in upcoming chapters. Sigma is being too much of a smart ass for her own good at the moment. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for reading and reviewing.

****

kura52 ~ That's okay that you couldn't review my last chapter. Yes that was Voldemort, as you found out in this chapter through Hank's big mouth lol. It was a mystery, but most of it was revealed in this chapter. I hope you liked it!

****

HarryzBabe ~ The Gem that Sigma is looking for is the Ministerial Gem, you will find out more about that in later chapters. Yes, that was Voldemort, as you found out in this chapter. Sorry for the slight wait on this chapter, I hope you liked it. 

****

amanda2680 ~ Lol, that's okay, I hope you liked this chapter, and Happy New Year! Have a good one okay? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

purfectchild ~ Yes, Sigma is resisting Voldemort, not much though, he's threatened her with the Imperius Curse now, so there isn't much she can do… yes Draco is just plain evil, lol. I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

rose petel ~ Sigma working for Voldemort… indeed it is evil and wrong, but she can't help herself. Remember, she can't control her actions, and she's lost. All of Sigma's friends are in danger, Voldemort wants them dead so that Sigma will let go of her past and be free to help him get the Ministerial Gem. Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Miss Raynbow ~ Hey! You were my 100th reviewer! Thank you! Malfoy does know about Maria's pregnancy, he was in the hospital wing when Maria told Ginny, remember? I'm glad you liked the dream, Sigma has a lot of abilities now. Oh, and yes, she did find Voldemort. The "Mystery Boney Man" is Voldemort… lol. Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	14. Two Betrayals

Cast Away

~* This may be the last chapter for two weeks, I'm going to Nationals for Softball, and won't be back for two weeks. Sorry everyone! I hope to come back to many new reviews! *~

****

Chapter 14 ~ Two Betrayals 

Draco paced in the small room in the dungeons where he had met Ginny a few months ago, his face bearing a concerned, thoughtful look. Christmas was just around the corner and he had to think of something to get Maria and Ginny from _"Anonymous"_, but would be so obviously from him. Not jewellery, that is so unoriginal, not clothes… Draco threw his head back in exasperation, desperately trying to think of the ideal gift. 

Ginny liked Quidditch, Maria was pregnant. Draco knew that he had to get them something they could use, and would like. 

'I thought I would find you here,' A voice rang out from the small brass door at one end of the room. This particular room had about twenty doors, and one passageway, each leading to a different part of the Hogwarts Castle. Ginny had come through the passage that night. Draco spun around to face the person who had spoken. Leanne Brayshaw stood at the door wearing her small white singlet top and really short, white, silk boxer shorts which were her pyjama's. She had a small blue "LB" embroidered on the top left hand side of her singlet top. Draco had never seen her in such absence of clothes. He gawked at her as she crossed the room and sat on the large comfortable chair, crossing one leg over the other and folding her arms. 

'Brayshaw,' Draco managed to say. Leanne's eyes narrowed and her mouth formed a small pout. 

'How many times have I told you… _asked_ you to call me Leanne?' She said, smiling sweetly. Draco put on a stern face and scowled. 

'You may have the other guys fooled with your charm and beauty, but not me,' Draco said, folding his arms across his chest. Leanne clapped a hand over her heart and widened her eyes comically. 

'Why, _whatever _do you mean?' She said innocently, batting her eyelashes. 

'I don't have time for games, _Leanne_,' Draco said in a tone that told Leanne he was being serious. She stood to face him, letting her sweet act drop. 

'Fine,' 

'What do you want?' Draco asked blankly. 

'I just wanted to see how you were doing,' Leanne said, then, seeing the look in Draco's eyes, she sighed. 'Okay, I wanted to know something,' 

'What?' 

'I've heard some things, things that would ruin you Draco,' She said. 'I just wanted to know if they were true.' 

'What things?' Draco asked, growing impatient. 

'That you were seen with Ginny Weasley, being rather, _seductive_, to put it lightly…' Leanne trailed off. 

'_I _wasn't the one being seductive, so I suggest you don't believe everything you hear in future,' Draco said harshly. He grabbed Leanne's neck roughly to point her face at him, instead of looking around the room like she had been. 'Do you understand me?' 

'Yes,' 

'Good girl,' He said, his face millimetres from hers. Draco released her neck and stalked out of the room. Leanne rubbed her neck, and glanced at Draco's retreating figure as he slammed the oak door. 

~***~

Leanne put on a stone cold face as she walked quickly into the Great Hall, passing some Slytherins and heading straight over to the Gryffindor Table. 

'Lambi, are you okay?' Leanne ignored her friend's query and pushed past her, stopping only when she reached Ginny Weasley's chair at the Gryffindor Table. 

'Ginny,' Hermione pointed behind the red head. Ginny turned around to see Leanne standing over her, with a menacing expression. 

'Follow me, Weasley, if you know what's good for you,' Leanne snapped. Ginny glanced back at Hermione, who was busy talking to Harry about their Christmas homework. She nervously stood up and followed Leanne out of the Great Hall, and down through the Slytherin Dungeons. 

'Where are we going?' Ginny asked timidly. Leanne made no attempt to reply as she led the Gryffindor deeper into the castle. After ten more minutes had passed, Leanne stopped. They were standing in front of a large black and dark purple tapestry. Leanne pressed her hand in the middle black box, allowing the tapestry to slide to the left. She grabbed Ginny's wrist, sensing that Ginny wouldn't go in there without force, and led her through. The tapestry snapped shut behind the girls, and Leanne switched on a light. 

The four walls were dead black, with nothing resting against them. There was no furniture in the room save one deep purple couch, looking very comfortable. The floor consisted of panes of wood, varnished and polished to perfection with no scratched on it. Ginny had never seen such a room before. 

'This is my room,' Leanne informed her. 'That tapestry leads to about a hundred different rooms, depending on which Slytherin puts their hand in the box.' 

'Where would it lead me?' Ginny asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Leanne grinned evilly. 

'It would lead any Gryffindor to a nasty surprise.' She said simply. 

'So why have you brought me here?' said Ginny. Leanne's face resumed it's harsh, menacing look. 

'To give you a warning,' Leanne said extremely softly. '_Stay away from Draco_,' Her voice barely above a whisper. 'He's too good for the likes of you,' 

'Who are you to tell me what to do?' Ginny cried, outraged that Leanne had the nerve to tell her to keep away from a person who she didn't even like in the first place. Leanne leant in close to Ginny. 

'I have my sights set on Draco Malfoy, and if you happen to come between us, it will be your neck,' Leanne said, snapping a Quill. Ginny pushed the girl back. 

'You don't have to worry about that, _Brayshaw_, I won't go anywhere near that pig,' Ginny reassured the Slytherin before turning and leaving the dark room. 

~***~

Sigma did not want to be under the Imperious Curse, though it felt like she couldn't control her actions anyway, so what difference would it make? Besides, she would "get" Hank, meaning she could make him her slave. He would be stupid enough to take orders from her anyway. 

So she was on a train, on her way to the London countryside somewhere, ignoring skeptical glances she was getting from various Muggles. 

'Excuse my pardon Miss, but can I take a peek at your ticket?' Sigma looked up to see a small, lanky male in his early twenties with red hair and bad acne. Her black eyes stared at him, at his brown eyes. This certainly made the poor guy uncomfortable. He fidgeted. 

'I'm going to forget that you asked me that,' Sigma said coolly. 

'S-sorry Miss, but I have to check your ticket,' He continued, clearly intimidated by Sigma, who stood to face him. He was only a little bit taller than her, and he gulped as she narrowed her eyes. 

'Says who?' Sigma said dangerously. He pulled on his collar nervously. 

'Never mind Miss, take a seat,' He said, trembling slightly, and walked away. Sigma took her seat and continued to look out of the window, until she saw the rickety old train station of a country side town, her stop. The train came to a halt, and Sigma got off, along with several other people. She carried a broomstick in a long bag, which some people gave her funny looks for. 

When Sigma was out of sight from Muggles, she mounted her broom, and found the Hogwarts Express tracks, which she followed to the Hogsmeade Station, and through to the Hogwarts Castle. 

She landed on the grounds, tucking her broom back in the little bag, and she slipped into the Castle. 

Now to kill her friends, the only people stopping her from completely turning to the dark side, Voldemort had given Sigma ample amounts of a death potion to slip in their goblets. Sigma walked through the halls of Hogwarts, which were empty as everyone was in class, and up the many different staircases to the Gryffindor portrait. 

'Password?' The fat lady asked. Sigma paused, she didn't know the new password, if it indeed had been changed. She decided to try the old one anyway. 

'Jitterbug,' 

The fat lady folded her arms across her chest and refused to budge. Sigma gave her a nasty look before turning to leave. She went to the Great Hall, deciding to wait for lunch to see her friends. She took her old seat at the Gryffindor table, not letting old memories get to her. Sitting there, Sigma suddenly felt flushed, she lay her head on the table. 

__

~~Sigma's Premonition

They were sitting, talking happily, eating lunch, drinking from their goblets. Everyone seemed in brighter spirits now that Sigma had come back, especially Ginny. Harry came and sat next to Sigma. 

'I'm glad you decided to come back, Ginny has been such a wreck without you,' Harry smiled. Sigma returned the smile and nodded. 

'Ginny won't ever have to worry again,' She said, meaning more than what Harry thought she meant. Ginny wouldn't have to worry every again because she would be dead in a few hours. 

Sigma fingered the potion vial in her right hand, waiting until everyone looked away. She soon found the perfect opportunity when Draco Malfoy began taunting the Gryffindors. They all looked over in his direction, some people even jeering back at the Slytherins. Sigma used this chance to slip some potion into the goblets of Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Cassandra, Alistair and Colin, the only Gryffindors around. 

After the incident with the Slytherins, everyone turned back to their food, and drink. Harry was the first to take a drink, followed by Colin, Hermione, Cassandra, Alistair, and finally Ginny. They had all drunk their poison. 

~~End~~

Sigma sat up, she had gotten another premonition, one that she hated the outcome of. She wanted her legs to move, she wanted to get out of there, or smash the potion, before it was too late. There was nothing she could do, her body sat there calmly, while her spirit sank. The bell sounded. Sigma looked at her wristwatch, lunch time. She dreaded it greatly, when her friends would walk into the Great Hall, but not walk out. 

Harry and Hermione were the first Gryffindors to come into the Great Hall. They noticed the small, dull blonde girl sitting at the Gryffindor Table, and they went to see who she was. 

'Sigma?' Harry asked, and Sigma turned around. 'Hey! It's you!' Harry exclaimed, and wrapped her in a hug. Sigma stiffened, but patted Harry lightly on the back. 

'Sigma, it's so great to see you again,' Hermione said, enveloping the small girl in a hug. Sigma awkwardly patted Hermione on the back. 

'Ginny will be so happy to see you,' Harry said, his voice rather serious for Sigma's liking. She nodded slightly. 

'That's nice,' 

'Wow, Sigma, you sound like something crawled down your throat and died? Are you okay? Would you like one of Fred and George's invention throat lozenges?' Hermione offered Sigma one, which she took, and swallowed in one gulp. Instantly, she felt better. 

'Thanks,' Sigma said, sounding a lot better. 

'That's better, isn't it,' Hermione said happily. At that moment, Ginny walked in with Cassandra, Colin and Alistair. The three were talking happily, but Ginny walked away from them a bit, looking like a drifter. Sigma turned to look at the four fifth years. 

'Sigma!' Ginny squealed, running up to her friend and barreling her in a hug. Once again, Sigma awkwardly patted her on the back. Sigma didn't like being touched much. 'I'm so glad you came back, but what happened to your hair? And your eyes are still black, but who cares because you're back and you're never leaving again!' Ginny said, talking rather fast, caught up in the excitement. 

Once the excitement of Sigma's return had settled down, they all sat down for lunch. The plates filled with food, and chatter rang merrily through the Great Hall. 

They were sitting, talking happily, eating lunch, drinking from their goblets. Everyone seemed in brighter spirits now that Sigma had come back, especially Ginny. Harry came and sat next to Sigma. 

'I'm glad you decided to come back, Ginny has been such a wreck without you,' Harry smiled. Sigma returned the smile and nodded. 

'Ginny won't ever have to worry again,' She said, meaning more than what Harry thought she meant. Ginny wouldn't have to worry every again because she would be dead in a few hours. 

Sigma fingered the potion vial in her right hand, waiting until everyone looked away. She soon found the perfect opportunity when Draco Malfoy began taunting the Gryffindors. They all looked over in his direction, some people even jeering back at the Slytherins. Sigma used this chance to slip some potion into the goblets of Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Cassandra, Alistair and Colin, the only Gryffindors around. 

Without warning, the ceiling rumbled and lightning struck the Gryffindor table, blowing all the food and drink from the surface. Everyone looked over in curiosity, wanting to know why this happened. Dumbledore looked down cautiously from the teachers table. Sigma stayed completely calm, apart from the shock that she put on to fool the others into believing that she had nothing to do with lightning striking the Gryffindor table. 

'I don't believe that's _ever _happened before,' Harry said timidly, after the shock died down. Hermione frowned, picking up her goblet from where it lay on the floor. She sniffed the goblet, and her nose scrunched up, confirming Sigma's worst nightmares.

'That's because no one's ever tried slipping a potion of death in these goblets before,' She said, extremely suspiciously. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

Orli-anon ~ Thanks for that about Blaise, I thought it would have been a male name as well, but thanks for the confirmation. Also thank you for your other, lovely review! Yes these chapters may not be having much to do with the original plot, but I've changed the plot a little bit. It will still be mainly about Ginny and Draco, but they need to get together first. Don't worry, it's getting there. Thank you for reading and reviewing! 

****

Miss Raynbow ~ Sigma isn't really standing up to him, she's basically under her own imperious curse at the moment, that's what I'm getting at her not being able to control her own actions. Voldemort doesn't kill her because he needs her to get him the Ministerial Gem. You'll find out more about that in later chapters. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

rose petel ~ Sigma is a strong person, she is only corrupted by herself. She stands up to Voldemort because she doesn't like being treated as a slave. By having Sigma kill her friends, it seems final, like some sort of closure for her, which would mean she could never go back to the light side, and would have no choice but to turn evil. Thank you for the compliment! I hope you liked this chapter. 

****

kura52 ~ Hehehe, sorry if I freaked you out with that chapter. Hank is a weird person, that is right. He's a typical surfer guy who has the brains of a two year old. Yeah, Harry's been pretty nice to Ginny lately, but she thinks he's pitying her, which she doesn't want, so she will always turn him down. Malfoy's plan is falling into place, but Leanne will be a big obsticle… I hope you liked this chapter!

****

ERSM333 ~ In the first few chapters, Ginny is supposed to seem sulky, not rude though, I'm not sure where you got rude from. Thank you for your compliment on my grammar. Those characters were only acting like that in the first few chapters. Hank is Hermione's "boyfriend", remember? She thinks he's a Muggle, but he's not, he just didn't go to Hogwarts, and he's not too bright, which would be why he's with Voldemort. Sorry about the cliffhanger, I hope you liked this chapter!

****

HarryzBabe ~ The Gem, ah yes, makes it's owner invincible. That is why Voldemort wants it so badly, because then he can attack without worrying about Dumbledore and such. I hope you liked this chapter! It took me a while to write, unlike my other chapters which I normally write all in one go. 

****

Kelei ~ Yeah, Hank is dumb, I'm glad you like him that way! Now, about devistated Hermione, how can I weave that in? hmm… Hank… yes okay. Ginny will be mad in some parts, like when she finds out Sigma tried to kill her. As for Harry, I'll try to find a way to make him protective. Thank you for reading and reviewing.


	15. Karma

Cast Away

****

Chapter 15 ~ Karma

'What do you mean "No one's ever tried slipping a potion of death in these goblets before," Hermione?' Ron asked, a tinge of nervousness in his voice. Every person in the Great Hall had their eyes on the Gryffindor Table, which was in ruins. 

'I mean exactly what I said, Ron,' Hermione replied. 'Someone has tried to kill us,' 

The Gryffindors all went pale. 

'Who would do that?' Alistair asked timidly. 

'Ask her,' Cassandra said, and pointed accusingly to Sigma, who's face remained blank. Ginny looked horrified. 

'How _dare _you accuse Sigma! She's had a rough enough time without you making things harder on her!' Ginny screamed angrily at Cassandra, loud enough so that everyone could hear her. 

'Well take a look at her, Ginny,' Cassandra began, 'Her eyes are still black, she has chopped her hair, and just look at her robes…' It was true, Sigma's robes were tattered and worn, nearly grey instead of their silky black colour, and Sigma looked like she had not had a decent shower since she left Hogwarts. Cassandra was also right about her hair and eyes. Sigma looked like a wreck. Sigma stared dully. 

'Leave…her…alone,' Ginny said slowly, gritting her teeth, and balled her hands into fists, getting angrier by the minute. Cassandra held her hands up in a truce, not wanting to anger Ginny more. 

'If not Sigma, then who?' Ron asked. Hermione sighed. 

'I don't know,' 

~***~

The Gryffindor Tower was dead quiet, which was a bad thing because it was only six o'clock that night. Ginny, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Sigma and Cassandra sat in the chairs, occasionally glancing at eachother, nervous stares, however, Sigma sat there calmly, never looking away from the fire place. Alistair and Colin were out serving detention with Professor McGonagall for sneaking around the castle after bed time. 

Ron cleared his throat. No one payed him any attention. He cleared his throat again, this time louder. 

'What do you want, Ron?' Harry asked sharply. Ron, however, turned to Sigma. 

'Sigma, where did you go, you know, when you went away? I mean, you look like you haven't had a shower, or changed robes, or taken care of yourself properly,' He added the last part quickly when Sigma turned to stare him in the eyes.

'Yes, and Sigma, I think you should lighten up, it's been a long time since any of us have seen you smile!' Hermione said brightly. Sigma didn't make any effort to answer Ron's question, or smile. 

'I have no reason to smile, no happiness left inside,' Sigma told them without flinching, as if that one sentence was rehearsed over and over. 

'Why not? You're back here with your friends, people who love and care about you, you should be happy!' Ginny urged. Sigma roared, and she jumped up. 

'I _don't want people to love and care about me!_' She yelled, the Gryffindors looking taken aback. As suddenly as she had exploded, Sigma grew calm, and resumed her seated position, staring into the flames. 

'Sigma,' Ginny said gently, 'At least tell us where you were all this time,' 

'I've been around, trying to find out who I am and what I want to do about some things that I can't change for the better,' Sigma replied, for a moment, her old self showed through, but only for a moment, and she went back to looking into the flames, as if expecting something to come from them. 

'She did it, I _know _she did!' Cassandra suddenly cried. 'I can tell when I look at her, and she won't tell us where she's been this whole time, I _bet _she's gone to You-Know-Who!' 

'That is the most _ridiculous_ thing I have _ever _heard you say, Cassandra, and you've said some bloody ridiculous things in your time,' Colin said, he and Alistair were standing at the beginning of the hallway leading to the Gryffindor portrait, each boy leaning against either side of the frame with their arms folded, eyes trained on Cassandra. 

'I believe it, she's going to kill us all when we're asleep!' Cassandra insisted. 

'You really are digging your grave deep, Cassandra,' Ginny warned. 

'_Stop _protecting her!' Cassandra cried desperately. 

'I wouldn't _have _to protect her if you would stop ripping on her, and stop saying that she's out to kill us,' Ginny said. 

'You wouldn't have to protect her if she would protect herself, but look at her, she doesn't _care _that I'm saying these things, she doesn't lift a finger to stand against my words, it's almost as if she agrees with me,' Cassandra said. 

'She doesn't say anything because she's tired, weary from her time away, all Sigma needs is some rest, a shower, and for you to stop accusing her of attempted murder!' Ginny yelled. 

'All Sigma needs is for you to stop talking for her, let her talk for herself,' Cassandra said stubbornly. All eyes snapped to Sigma, who was sitting very still, not wanting attention drawn to herself. Her eyes glared into the floor boards, and her face remained expressionless.

'Well, Sigma, what do _you _need?' Ginny asked after a few minutes. Sigma looked up, noticing that the attention was all on her. 

'I need to get away,' Sigma said, looking rather hassled. 

'Huh? But you just got back, Sigma, you can't leave!' Ginny cried. 

'Now, Sigma, leaving is the last thing you want to do, you need to be around your friends,' Hermione said strictly. 

'There you go telling her what she needs again,' Cassandra pointed out obviously, earning herself glares from Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Colin and Alistair. Ron not wanting to get involved in an argument between the girls. 

'Shut _up _Cassandra! Go to bed or something,' Ginny said menacingly. 

'No, because I know that when I'm asleep, that _thing _will come and murder me!' Cassandra cried, trying to express her point, however, it just made the Gryffindors really mad. Hermione whipped her wand out quicker than you could say _Quidditch_. 

'_Engorgio_,' The spell hit Cassandra on her wand hand, and it began to swell painfully. 

'You will address Sigma with her name, not _"thing"_, do you understand?' Ginny growled. Cassandra nodded, grimacing from the pain in her hand. 

'Make it stop!' She groaned at Hermione, who showed no mercy. 

'Take back all the things you have said about Sigma -' Hermione began, but was cut off by Harry. 

'She'll say anything to make you take off that curse, even if she did take it back, it would be irrelevant because she wouldn't mean it,' 

'Fair statement,' Hermione said, waving her wand to release Cassandra, who's hand shrunk back to it's normal size. 

'You'd better go to bed before all of this gets worse,' Harry suggested to Cassandra. 

'No, I'm in this, you're not getting rid of me that easily,' Cassandra folded her arms across her chest and refused to move. 

'Cassandra, I can easily put that curse back on you, so I suggest you get to bed,' Hermione said, '_Now,_' She drew her wand as a threat. Cassandra slowly accepted defeat and trudged up the girls staircase. 

Ginny let out a sigh of relief.

'I thought she'd never leave,' She said heavily. Once again, attention was turned to Sigma, who was silent. 

'Sigma, would you like us to get you something?' Hermione asked gently. Sigma shook her head. 

'What do you want? A nice shower? Black hair dye? New robes?' Ginny suggested. 

'We can get it all for you,' Hermione added. 

'I'm quite fine, I just think I need sleep,' Sigma stood to go to bed, but Ginny stopped her. 

'At least have a nice shower before you sleep, and change into your pyjamas?' She suggested more than ordered. 

'Wash your hair?' Ron suggested. Sigma glared. 

'I'll have a shower, wash my hair and change.' Sigma stated, and disappeared up the staircase. 

'Ginny, I think you should go with her, not in the shower, but, you know, wait outside or something, make sure she's okay,' Hermione said. 

'Sounds like a plan,' Ginny said, and she followed Sigma. 

~***~

Ginny woke up, in her usual bed, between Sigma and Maria's bed. Sigma was still sound asleep, as though she hadn't had a decent rest for a long time. Maria's bed was, of course, empty as Maria was home for the Christmas holidays. The night had been un-eventful after Ginny and Sigma had left the common room. Sigma had taken a shower like she said she would, and had gone straight to bed. Ginny did the same, not letting on that she was checking up on Sigma every once in a while. 

Ginny got up and walked to the window in between Maria and Cassandra's beds, and noticed that Cassandra was lying in an awkward position. Ginny frowned, Cassandra usually slept on her back with her legs propped up on a pillow, because she had a back problem, but she was lying on her stomach, her legs twisted out to the sides and her head turned to the left. Her arms were sprawled all over the top end of her bed. 

'Cassandra?' Ginny leant down gently, and looked at Cassandra's face. She jumped back immediately, eyes wide, hand clapped over her mouth. Ginny gasped, then screamed. Cassandra's eyes were rolled to the back of her head and her tongue was hanging from her mouth. There were no signs of breathing. Ginny began to shake, but she had to be sure. She reached her hand to Cassandra's wrist and checked for a pulse, nothing. Ginny screamed again and stumbled back, falling onto Maria's bed. 

'Hermione!' Ginny screamed running out of the door and onto the staircase, '_Hermione!_' She screamed again, the urgency in Ginny's voice sent Hermione running to see what the matter was. 

'Ginny! What's wrong? What's going on?' Hermione cried frantically. 

'It's Cassandra, she's - she's -' Ginny stammered. Hermione's eyes widdened, and she pushed past Ginny into the room. 'Dead,' Ginny whispered, finishing her sentence. Hermione let out a yelp, and came running back to Ginny. 

'I, I don't understand, how could this have happened?' Hermione said, tears streaming down her face. She didn't like Cassandra, but she didn't want to see her dead either. Hermione's face suddenly turned serious. 'You _did _watch Sigma last night, didn't you?' 

'Yes, all night until she fell asleep, she's still asleep now, why do you think she did this, Hermione? Sigma would never murder anyone, there must be a logical explaination for all of this,' Ginny insisted. 

'You're right, Cassandra could have choked on something, like the pillow, or her saliva,' Hermione racked her brain for ideas. 

'We should check her, you know, to see if she was strangled or something,' Ginny suggested nervously. 

'Good idea,' Hermione snapped her fingers, and walked over to where Cassandra's body lay.

'Um, Hermione, on second thoughts, maybe we should get the Professors first, let them take care of this.' Ginny stammered. 

'Even better,' Hermione turned away from Cassandra, and the two girls headed out the door to get help. 

'Wait, we shouldn't leave Sigma here to wake up to a dead body,' Ginny said, and ran back to Sigma's bed. 'Sigma, wake up!' Ginny called. 

'Huh?' Sigma moaned. 

'Wake up! Cassandra's been killed, we have to warn the Professors!' Ginny cried. Sigma snapped away as if she had been hit with a broomstick. 

'What? How is that possible?' Sigma yelled, glancing at Cassandra's body. 

'We have to get Professor McGonagall,' Hermione said quickly. Sigma's eyes widdened. 

'What if they think _we _did it? Everyone knows we aren't friends with Cassandra, the Professors could think this was the perfect opportunity to take her out,' Sigma said. 

'Nonsense,' Hermione snapped. 'We have to go to the teachers, if we do that, then they'll be less likely to think we did it,' 

'Come on Sigma, we have to go to McGonagall,' Ginny said gently, tears pricking in her eyes. Sigma got out of her bed, and threw on a school robe which was clean and un-tattered. 

'I'm not dead,' A voice called out from the other side of the room. Three heads snapped towards the direction of the voice. Cassandra was standing up slowly, rubbing her neck. 

'What?' Ginny cried, half relief, half disbelief. 

'You mustn't have had much experience with checking pulse, Ginny,' Cassandra said as she stretched her back. 

'Why were you sleeping like that?' Hermione asked suspiciously. 

'I fall asleep on my back with my feet propped up with a pillow, but I toss and turn in the night, just like everyone else,' Cassandra explained. 

'It's good to see that you aren't dead, you had us all worried,' Ginny said, breathing a sigh of relief. Cassandra, however, looked rather skeptical. 

'I didn't think you guys liked me,' 

'We don't,' Hermione said quickly. 'We just don't want to see anyone die, that's all,'

'Hermione, that wasn't very nice,' Ginny hissed. 

'Come on, let's go to breakfast, I'm starved,' Hermione said, and walked out of the room. 

'She's not in a good mood after last night, that's all,' Ginny explained to Cassandra. 

'Oh, okay, fair enough,' Cassandra replied. 

Cassandra obviously didn't want to stick around with Sigma and Ginny, so she walked past the two friends and headed down to the common room, with Sigma and Ginny watching her every step. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

HarryzBabe ~ Yeah, the gem would be pretty good to have! Do you really think I would let the Gryffindors drink the poison! Hehehe, that would just ruin the story right then and there, and I can't have that! I have much more to write about. There are protection spells in the Great Hall, which is why the lightning struck the table. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Darcy16 ~ I'm glad you liked that last chapter, and I hope that this one wasn't too late! I am writing this after a 5 hour plane flight! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

****

rose petel ~ Well, Hermione does have a good knowledge of basically everything, and by smelling it, the smell could have been foul, or tangy, so she would have put knowledge together with a simple guess, and was right! 

****

kura52 ~ Yes, Sigma is back, but if she can manage to kill Ginny and the rest of her friends is another story! I assume you're talking about Leanne, she's a bit of a bitch isn't she, very arrogant and Slytherin Like. Oh, just one thing that I didn't understand in your review, what does "w/e" mean? I got the general idea of what you were saying, I just wanted to know what it means! I did have fun, I had a great time! And we came second, only losing the grand final by one run! Thank you for reading and reviewing. 

****

Kelei ~ Lol, sorry for the cliffhanger, especially when I was leaving for 11 days! I don't normally end chapters in places like that, but I just thought I'd be extremely evil for that last chapter! Sigma is a very strange character, but she's a good one to have, because no one knows what she'll do next, she's a very unpredictable character. 

****

Miss Raynbow ~ Sigma would have forseen the lightning, even when she didn't know about it, but she saw what she so desperately wanted to see. Her own wants and needs are beginning to cloud her premonitions, pretty soon she'll be seeing things that she wants to happen, not things that actually will happen. Confused? Me too! About Dumbledore, he's a weird person, but he does seem to know everything, he may have some suspicions about Sigma, but as lawyers say "Innocent until proven guilty". Thank you for the compliment! I hope you liked this chapter. 


	16. The Worst Christmas

Cast Away

****

Chapter 16 ~ The Worst Christmas

The days crawled by uneventful as Christmas approached. Sigma stayed out of Cassandra's way, and the night of their argument blew over without a second mention. Everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit, decorating the Great Hall and various other rooms of the castle. 

Draco Malfoy wondered if his Christmas Present to Maria would get to her without fail. He had bought Maria a beautiful stationary set with golden paper, lavender envelopes with sparkling gold trimmings, and three different golden quills which wrote in black ink. The quills had spells on them to write whatever Maria said. His present to Ginny was the same. Draco hoped that Maria and Ginny would each compare gifts, and find out that they received the same gift from an anonymous person, and work it out from there. 

'Draco,' A voice called from the door to the boys sixth year dorms. Draco turned to see who it was, Leanne. 

'Hi, Leanne,' Draco replied. Leanne walked over to him with a large smile on her face. 'What do you have planned?' He asked. Leanne wore a small lace blouse with a blue silky bra clearly visible through the chosen blouse, and a knee length white skirt with a blue sewn butterfly on the bottom to the right. She reached out her hand and held up a small plant.

'Mistletoe,' Leanne said cheerfully, shaking the Mistletoe above their heads. 

'I don't think so Leanne,' Draco replied coldly. Leanne looked shocked. 

'You _can't_ break Christmas Tradition, Draco, it wouldn't be right!' 

'Fine,' Draco bent down and planted a small, quick kiss on Leanne's left cheek. She frowned when he pulled back. 

'That wasn't a real kiss, are you a bad kisser?' Leanne taunted. Draco scowled, then pulled her into a deep kiss. There was no feeling in the kiss, because Draco simply didn't like Leanne. However, she seemed to think it was satisfying, because when they pulled apart, she smiled sweetly and walked off. 

'Are you happy now, Leanne?' Draco called after her. Leanne stopped, but didn't turn to face him. She nodded slightly, and continued to walk out. 

__

What was that all about? Draco thought as he watched the fifth year girl leave.

'That will make a lovely picture for the Great Hall!' Kristy Elfman, Leanne's friend in fifth year Slytherin, stepped out from behind a cabinet holding a wizard camera. 

'Don't you _dare_ think about it, Elfman,' Draco scowled, but Kristy wasn't swayed. 

'I don't have to think about it, I've already taken the picture, that's all I need to do, Leanne's doing the rest,' With those words, Kristy ran out of the room and down the stairs. 

~***~

Cassandra stirred in her sleep, Christmas Eve. She awoke to a small creak in the room. Cassandra climbed wearily out of bed and walked around the room for a few seconds, before noticing that Sigma's bed was empty. 

Without thinking to wake Ginny, Cassandra walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she heard voices from within the Gryffindor common room. The first voice she recognised as Sigma's, but the other scratchy voice, well, Cassandra couldn't tell who he was, but it was definitely a male's voice. 

She crept closer, leaning in slightly to get a better idea of what was being said. 

'Have you succeeded in your task yet?' The scratchy voice asked. 

'No, master, not quite,' Sigma replied. 'I did slip the death potion in their goblets like you asked me to, but lightning struck the Gryffindor Table before they had the chance to drink it, and then know-it-all Hermione Granger smelt her goblet and knew that there was a potion of death in there,' She finished. 

'I suggest you get moving, time is running out, the Ministerial Gem is moving further and further away with each leap, making it harder to track,' The voice continued. 'So the sooner you get these people killed, the easier it will be for you to get the Gem,' 

'Yes, Voldemort,' Sigma said, and there was a pop. Cassandra held her breath, she couldn't believe what she had heard. Sigma had been talking to Voldemort about killing her, and her fellow Gryffindors. She had to tell Ginny, and the others, she had to warn them. Cassandra crept silently up the stairs as fast as she could without making any sound. 

__

I can't wait until morning, Sigma may have killed us by then! I have to wake up Ginny and Hermione now! Cassandra thought to herself as she entered her dormitory. She crossed the room to Ginny's bed and shook her awake. 

'Huh, what's going on?' Ginny asked groggily. 

'Ginny! It's Sigma, I saw her talking to You-Know-Who in the Gryffindor common room! He was in the fireplace or something, I don't know, but he was there, and Sigma's going to kill us so she can get back to searching for something called the Ministerial Gem which is what she's been doing all this time, looking for it, oh we have to wake Hermione up, she'll know what to do! We can't go back to sleep, we may never wake up! Sigma could strike when we're asleep, or she could even invade our dreams like Freddy Cruger does,' Cassandra finally stopped to take some much needed breaths. Ginny looked confused. 

'Slow down, what's this about Sigma talking to You-Know-Who? And who's Freddy Cruger?' 

'He's in some Muggle movies, don't worry about him, it's Sigma that we have to watch out for, she's trying to kill us! I heard her say that she slipped the poison into our goblets that day!' Cassandra cried frantically. 

'You're crazy, it was probably a dream,' Ginny said, 'Now please let me get back to sleep,' She rolled over so that her back was facing the other girl, but Cassandra wouldn't give up. 

'Please Ginny, I know what I saw, I know what I heard! We have to get Hermione!' Cassandra pleaded. 

'You go get Hermione, I'll just wait right here,' Ginny said sardonically. 

'Please, Ginny! You have to come with me!' The desperation in Cassandra's voice finally got the better of Ginny. She crawled out of bed and threw on her cloak.

'Fine, let's go get Hermione and see if she knows anything about this Ministerial Gem,' Ginny replied, and the two girls headed up the stairs to Hermione's room. She was the only sixth year girl staying there, and the room felt so big and empty. Cassandra and Ginny rushed over to Hermione's bed and shook her awake. 

'Hermione!' Cassandra cried. 

'Wake up,' Ginny said calmly. 

'What do you two want? It's four in the morning,' Hermione said glancing at her wrist watch. 

'It's Sigma, I saw her down in the common room talking to You-Know-Who through the fireplace or something, but he was definitely there, I heard him speak! He said something about a Ministerial Gem, and how it relocates and it's moving further away, and then he said that Sigma has to hurry up to kill us so that she can go and get the Gem!' Cassandra rushed her explanation. Hermione creased her brow. 

'You've got to be telling the truth, how else would you know about the Ministerial Gem, you don't learn about that in classes, and you could have only known if you studied the Book of Ancient Realms, which I'm sure you haven't,' Hermione said. Ginny frowned. 

'Sigma can't really be out to kill us, can she?' 

'I don't know, Ginny, but the part about the Ministerial Gem makes sense,' Hermione sat up. 

'Tell us about the Gem,' Cassandra urged, and the two fifth years sat on Hermione's bed. 

'Well, it is a clear green gem the size of the palm of your hand, spheric in shape. It was forged by a Wizard named Hugo Minister in 23BC using a golden cauldron. No one knows what he put in the cauldron, but it is known that the Gem, before becoming the Ministerial Gem, was just an ordinary diamond, a large one at that,' Hermione paused to take a breath before continuing. 'The Gem possesses great power, the power to make the holder invincible. It can relocate itself when being hunted, and can even hide in people's dreams, which might explain what Sigma was doing in your dream a while ago, Cassandra,' 

'Did Ginny tell you about that?' Cassandra asked. 

'Yes, I did tell Hermione about that,' Ginny answered.

'So Sigma can invade people's dreams? We're not safe asleep of awake!' She cried. 

'You haven't by any chance, seen the Freddy Cruger movies?' Hermione asked suspiciously. Cassandra nodded meekly. 

'What's all this about Freddy Cruger?' Ginny asked, looking between both girls. 

'He's just a character in some movies who kills people in their dreams,' Cassandra said turning white. 

'That's right, a _character _in a few movies, not reality,' Hermione said. 

'Sigma's Muggle born, she could have seen those movies, and she could have gotten some ideas from them when she realised that she could go into people's dreams!' Cassandra's voice shaking nervously as she spoke. 

'You two can sleep in here, I'll put a charm on the room to keep Sigma out, okay? We need rest,' Hermione said taking out her wand. 

~***~

After present opening the next morning, all the Gryffindor's headed down to the Great Hall for their Christmas breakfast. Ginny and Hermione were careful not to intentionally leave Sigma out, or treat her any different than they would normally, so that she wouldn't get suspicious. 

Leanne stepped out in front of Ginny. 

'Look around you, Weasley, aren't they nice photo's of Draco and myself?' 

'Lovely photo's,' Ginny gave a sarcastic smile, and walked away from Leanne. 

After breakfast, Ginny walked out by herself, seemingly forgetting something back in the Gryffindor common room. Actually, she just wanted to get away from Sigma. 

__

How did it come to this? Ginny asked herself. _How did my sweet, innocent, shy best friend become a pawn of You-Know-Who? Why did she run to him when she had all the help she needed right here, it's not fair! Now she's trying to kill us! _

Ginny's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a tall male who stepped out of the shaddows. Ginny snapped out of her little world and looked at him, Draco Malfoy, the _last_ person she wanted to see at a time like this. 

'Hi Weasley,' He drawled. 

'What do you want this time, Malfoy?' Ginny questioned. 

'Nothing that you aren't capable of giving me,' Draco replied.

'Excuse me?' 

'You heard me,' 

'You have Leanne, she should be more than enough to satisfy your male hormones,' Ginny huffed, growing impatient with him. 

'I may have Leanne, but she does not have me,' He lowered his voice to a whisper, and Ginny had to strain herself to hear what he was saying. 

'What does that mean?' Ginny asked, but instead of answering her question, Draco looked up. Ginny followed his gaze, and much to her horror, saw a bunch of Mistletoe. 'No way,' Ginny said, and turned to walk away, but Draco caught her arm and spun her around, wrapping his arms around her waist to prevent her from running away. 

'It's tradition, Weasley, you wouldn't want to break Christmas Tradition, would you?' He purred into her ear. 

'No way, not with you,' Ginny said, but her tone didn't sound convincing, actually, she sounded like she was giving in after a long game of playing hard to get. 

'Ow, go on, you know you want it as much as I do,' Draco whispered. 

'You do not want to kiss me any more than I want to kiss you,' Ginny replied. 

'Then why won't I let you go?' Draco asked, and Ginny felt light headed. 

'You could have Leanne, yet you choose not to,' Ginny replied, trying to stay strong, and fight the ever growing urge to give in and kiss him. 

'That's right, I don't want Leanne,' Draco replied. Ginny felt herself go limp in his arms, but she could do nothing about it. He must have felt the change in her stance, because at that moment he leaned in to kiss her. Ginny mustered some strength and pushed her hand against his chest, keeping him a few inches away from her. 

'What if someone saw?' Ginny asked, trying desperately to make up any excuse she could think of. 

'No one would see, they're all still at breakfast,' 

'Leanne, what about her? She would find out! She has her ways,' Ginny's resistance grew stronger. 

'Who cares about Leanne Brayshaw?' Draco growled, and leant down to kiss Ginny, her eyelids fluttering. Ginny felt her heart skip a beat as Draco pressed his lips against hers. She had never really kissed a guy before, but instinct took over, and soon the kiss turned into a fiery, passionate kiss which neither person could bring themselves to pull out of. 

Draco pulled back. The kiss had only lasted seconds, but to Ginny it felt like much longer than that. Draco winked at her, and walked past her, back in the direction of the Great Hall. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

sera ~ er, I just chose a name that wouldn't sound corny. That's what I try to do when I make up characters, I don't pick names that sound like Mary-Sue names. Why do you ask? Well, about the story line, some parts of it are meant to be depressing, some are meant to be scary, and some are just there to fill in the time. I hope you continue to read and review.

****

rose petel ~ Well, in the last chapter, Cassandra didn't actually know that Sigma was trying to kill them, she just took a guess based on Sigma's appearance, secrecy about where she'd been, and the fact that Cassandra hates Sigma may have had something to do with it. Now, after this chapter, they know for certain that Sigma is trying to kill them. 

****

kura52 ~ I didn't make Cassandra dead because I needed her in this chapter to discover Sigma talking to Voldemort. I haven't quite decided if Sigma will manage to kill people or not, but the whole "Freddy Cruger" thing will most certainly come into my story. If you're not sure about it, just watch the movie Freddy Vs Jason, then you'll understand. 

****

Latrikana ~ Sorry to confuse you with the whole Cassandra-not-being-dead thing, it was meant to give the readers a scare, and think that Sigma had actually killed someone. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for your review.

****

HarryzBabe ~ I'm glad you thought that Sigma had actually killed Cassandra, that was how I was trying to make it out, so that people would think that Sigma had started killing people. Besides, I needed Cassandra for this chapter. I hope you liked it. 

****

DMSBLuva ~ Thank you for the compliment! The part where Cassandra "died" was supposed to make readers scared that Sigma had killed her, so I'm glad it worked! Well, what can I say, Ginny's noticed that Sigma might kill her, and she's not too happy about it. If it weren't for Draco interfering, Ginny would have revealed more about her feelings towards Sigma, but that will come in the next chapter! 

****

Darcy16 ~ Thank you for your compliments, I'm glad you liked that last chapter. I hope this one was as good, do you think I should make them longer? Thank you for reading and reviewing. 


	17. The Bad Touch

Cast Away

****

Chapter 17 ~ The Bad Touch

School had resumed, bringing back all people who had been away over the holidays. Maria's pregnancy was beginning to show, so she always wore extremely baggy robes, even just around the castle when there were no classes. 

Ginny, on the other hand, was torn up over what had happened on Christmas. She hardly remembered it clearly, all she had was occasional flashes of the kiss happening. She didn't remember what it was like, let alone how it felt. Confusion swept over her like a blanket. Ginny knew that she didn't want anyone like Malfoy. That was that, her mind made up, she would completely stay out of his, and Leanne's way. 

Sigma was lying low, playing nice. She didn't want them to suspect anything, especially after the incident with Cassandra, trouble was that Ginny, Hermione and Cassandra already knew Sigma's intentions. 

So Ginny walked back to the Gryffindor common room with Sigma after a hard, first day back, of classes. 

'So, Sigma, didn't think much of that Potions Lesson, eh?' Ginny said, laughing nervously, trying to make idle chit-chat. Sigma frowned and trained her midnight black eyes on Ginny's. 

'Mmm, not much,' She replied suspiciously. Just then Hermione stepped out from around a corner, putting on a big fake smile. 

'Hi Ginny, Sigma, what a coincidence I would run into you two,' Hermione chuckled. 

'Hi…Hermione,' Ginny said slowly, and in a voice that said _What are you doing?_

'We- I was just wondering if we - I could have a word with Ginny? Come for a walk,' Hermione giggled and kept up her fake smile. Sigma obviously saw right through it, as she frowned dangerously. 

'I don't see why not,' Sigma's words were icy, making Hermione laugh nervously. 

'Thanks, I'll have her back to you in one piece!' 

'Wouldn't have it any other way,' Sigma muttered, and walked off. Ginny immediately glared at Hermione. 

'_What _are you playing at? Sigma is beginning to get weird and suspecting of something! You've just gone and made it worse, practically confirming her suspicions!' Ginny hissed. 

'Sorry,' Hermione said sincerely. 'I just saw you talking to her, and it looked very much like an awkward situation, so I went and got you out of it, didn't I?' 

'Yeah,' Ginny nodded. 'Thanks I guess,' 

'Well, Sigma hasn't said or done anything to make us think she wants to kill us, so I believe she's lying low for a while, most likely from the incident with Cassandra,' Hermione said. 

'That's believable,' Ginny replied, 'And true, she's been kind of acting like her normal self, apart from her deathly appearance and all,' As she said that, Cassandra jumped out at them, wide eyed and scared. 

'Don't you see? She's just biding her time! She's waiting back, planning on how she's going to kill us! She's _going to kill us!_ There's nothing we can do to stop her! This is serious! How can you be so calm?' Cassandra cried. 

'Shhh,' Ginny and Hermione both put a finger to their lips and looked around anxiously to make sure no one had heard them. Unfortunately, Cassandra had been with Julia and Maria when she had jumped out and started panicking. Maria and Julia stepped out, both looking terrified. 

'Sigma's trying to kill us?' Julia's lip quivered. 

'What about my baby?' Maria said, placing a hand protectively over her stomach. 

'Can we talk about this somewhere else?' Hermione said in a hushed whisper. 

All five girls were completely silent as they walked out of the Castle and across the grounds, getting as far away as they dared to prevent anyone following them, or overhearing something they didn't want anyone to overhear. When they finally stopped, Cassandra almost exploded. 

'_How_ can you stand there and discuss that _maniac_ like _nothing's_ wrong?' 

'Settle down, Cassandra, Sigma isn't a maniac-' 

'To hell she isn't,' Maria stopped Ginny, who frowned at the pregnant girl. 

'Would you let me finish?' Ginny growled. 'Anyway, Sigma isn't a maniac, she's just confused, and lost, alone. She needs some space, and time to sort herself out, I never thought I'd say this, but it would be best for everyone if Sigma just went away again,' 

'Yes, that _would _be best, for _all _of us,' Julia confirmed. 

'The last words she communicated to me before she left the first time, are burned into my memory; _I know what you're thinking, I can see it when I see you. I am beyond help. As for my eye, the black represents my mental and physical struggle. The more I try to be normal, the blacker it becomes, making me even more of a freak. I can see from it, but the world is seen to me in flames. My right eye sees as you do, but it too will soon become black. I sense that your worry decreases as I continue to shunt you out. I am no longer myself, and I fear that I will harm you if I keep you close. I do not want to bring you, or anyone else to harm, that is why I am avoiding everyone as much as possible. I fear I may do something that I would not have control over. My temper has reached it's end, I no longer am in control of my actions. For that I am sorry. The only thing keeping me sane is my mind, explaining why I can speak freely to you this way. Before I disappear, I would just like you to know that I meant none of this. Just know that I am sorry. Have a great life, our paths may cross sooner than you think._' 

And so Ginny quoted the exact words that Sigma had told her the night she ran away. 

'Wow, I never thought of it like that,' Cassandra said, her voice expressionless. 

'Me neither,' Hermione admitted. 'That does make it hard to be angry at Sigma,' 

'No way! I'm still mad at her, do you know why? Because she's _trying to kill us_!' Cassandra reminded them. Ginny gave her an icy look. 

'Thanks for sharing that, I'd almost forgotten,' She commented sarcastically.

'Well it's true, okay, whether she's insane or not, she's trying to kill us,' Cassandra pouted. 

'Don't call her insane!' Ginny roared. 

'Well that's what she is, according to what you said were her last words to you that night,' Cassandra said, making an extremely valid point. 

'You should really learn to keep your mouth shut,' Hermione warned. 

'I'm just fearing for my life, as you should be too! We know what she's capable of, she slipped us a potion of death! Who knows what else she'll do, what lengths she'll go to, just to make sure we don't wake up the next morning,' Cassandra commented. Ginny sighed and bowed her head. 

'You're right, I guess,' 

'I know it's hard, but you just have to accept the fact that you might have to start sleeping with one eye open, we can't all sleep in Hermione's room forever, she's bound to start noticing,' Cassandra said softly. All the fifth year girls had taken to sleeping in Hermione's room with the sixth year girls, with Hermione's carefully placed spells. 

'Maybe we could put those spells on the curtains of our beds,' Maria suggested carelessly. 

'That's a great idea, Maria,' Hermione said proudly. Maria beamed. 

'Well, we should probably get back to the common room and pretend that we aren't plotting against Sigma, because that's probably how it seems,' Julia piped up. 

~***~

'Ginny,' Ginny didn't make a move to see who was calling to her, 'Ginny!' A hand touched her shoulder and she spun around. Ginny found herself facing Harry Potter's big green eyes. 

'Hi, Harry,' She said. 

'I wanted to talk to you about something,' He said, Ginny glanced at her watch. 

'Can it wait? I'm kind of running late for - well I'm meeting someone,' Ginny finished lamely. Harry frowned. 

'Meeting who?' Harry gave a suspicious frown. 

'No one really, well, no one that you would know very well,' Ginny said quickly. 

'Is that so? Well, it can't wait,' Harry said forcefully. 'I'm worried about you, ever since Sigma's been back, you've been acting strangely, is there something you would like to tell me? What's wrong with you?'

'I'm sorry Harry, but I really don't have time to answer your questions,' Ginny said, and turned to walk off. 

'Ginny, Ginny wait,' Harry called after her, but she made no move to go back to him. 

~***~

'Where _is _she, Draco?' Leanne demanded, stomping her foot, and folding her arms. 'You said she would be here at five, she's _late_!' 

'She'll be here, I slipped her that note,' Draco replied, getting rather impatient himself. 

'What note?' Leanne asked. 

'While she was talking to Hermione in the hallway, and Cassandra jumped out yelling something about Sigma which I didn't really hear much of, I slipped Ginny a note telling her to meet me,' Draco explained. 

'Did you say it was you?' Leanne asked. 'Did you say I would be with you?' Draco shook his head. 

'No, I didn't leave my name, or yours, but when she gets here it will be too late for her to leave anyway,' Draco said. 

'Why do you want to meet her anyway?' Leanne asked out of curiosity. 

'Why do _you _want to be here when I'm meeting her?' Draco flipped the question on her skilfully. Leanne raised an eyebrow. 

'Well, I want to hear what you have to say to her, and then I would like a word with her myself,' Leanne answered. 'Now why was it that you wanted to meet her again?' 

'That's none of your business, and I think you should leave,' 

'Why?'

'Because I don't want you here when I'm _associating_ with Ginny,' Draco drawled. Both Slytherins heard a door click shut. Draco ran to it and threw it open, only to find Ginny sprinting down the hallway. 

'Now look what you made me do, Leanne,' Draco glared at her for a second before sprinting after Ginny, leaving a stunned Leanne behind. 

He caught up with her quite easily and grabbed her waist, spinning her around to face him. She evaded her eyes from looking into his. 

'Hi,' He said playfully, trying to get her to look at him, unsuccessfully. 

'Would you let go of me?' Ginny ordered more than asked, still refusing to look into his eyes, instead, her eyes locked onto a nearby suit of armour. 

'Why did you come if you did not want to see me?' Draco asked. 

'If I'd known it was you who slipped me that note, I never would have come,' 

'How could you not have known? Who else would want to meet you? Face it, your friends don't appreciate you, hell, one of them is even trying to murder you,' Draco said, his voice cold. However, his choice of words made Ginny look at him in shock horror. 

'How -' 

'How do I know about Sigma? Quite obvious really, all you have to do is look at her to know she's up to something, but actually, you should tell Cassandra to keep her mouth shut in the hallways,' Draco sneered. 

'You shouldn't eavesdrop like that,' 

'It isn't my fault she practically screams it in my ear, I was just passing by and I hear this ranting about how Sigma's trying to murder you all,' Draco said innocently, which was mostly true, all he was trying to do was slip the note in Ginny's pocket. She noticed he still had his arms around her waist. 

'Would you like to let me go now? Christmas is over, Draco, no more Mistletoe, no more kisses.' 

'Such harsh words,' 

'I saw you back there with Leanne, what were you two talking about? Me?' 

'Actually, yes, I wanted her to piss off so I could talk to you alone,' Draco replied. 

'What makes you think I'm going to believe you?' Ginny argued.

'Because I know your situation,' 

'What do you mean, _you know my situation_?' Ginny asked suspiciously. 

'Well, I know what it's like to be on someone's "To Kill" list, and I know what it's like to be undepreciated by people who are considered friends,' 

'What are you talking about?' Ginny said slowly. 

'I'm talking about you, don't think I haven't seen you get picked on by Brently, Thorn, Chambers, Cassady and Hickling, even Potter, Granger and Weasley occasionally are nasty to you,' Draco said, referring to Ginny's friends by their last names; Maria Brently, Julia Thorn, Cassandra Chambers, Phillip Cassady and Drew Hickling. 

'You watch me?' Ginny asked suspiciously. 

'I know a lot of things that go on in this school, I have that social status to get certain information, however, much like you, I have one true friend, and that is all,' He concluded. 

'Is that so,' Ginny stated. 'I think I have more than one true friend,' 

'As a matter of fact, _true friends _don't try to murder eachother, so I'm betting you don't have any true friends,' Draco dared to say, earning himself a hard slap on the cheek. 'Okay, I deserved that,' 

'You should stay out of other people's business, _Malfoy_, and would you be so kind as to remove your hands from around my waist?' Ginny spat sarcastically. 

'I'm not stupid, if I let you go, you'll run away, and I'm in no mood to play cat and mouse,' Draco told her. 

'What makes you think you would be playing cat and mouse with me? What makes you think I'm the _slightest_ bit interested in you, Malfoy? Answer me that,' Ginny cried. 

'Well, that kiss was a dead give away,' 

'I'm absolutely disgusted! Why are you even interested in me anyway?' Ginny yelled angrily. 'I'm a Weasley! I'm your enemies sister, I'm in Gryffindor! What is it about me that appeals to you?' 

Of course, Draco couldn't tell her the truth, about him wanting to sleep with both Ginny and Maria after that night in the Hospital Wing. Instead, he released Ginny's waist, turned and began to walk off. 

'Wait just a minute,' Ginny called after Draco suspiciously, running up to him. 'You didn't answer my question,' 

'I shouldn't have to,' Draco said, and walked off. Ginny didn't follow him, instead watching his retreating form silently. What she didn't see was the large smirk plastered on his face. 

~***~

Leanne pottered around the empty classroom wondering what Draco was talking to Weasley about. She glanced at the open door and watched as Draco stormed past, a smirk on his face. She wondered immediately what had gone on between the two, and waited a while longer. Weasley couldn't be far away. She stepped out into the hall and looked back in the direction that Draco had come from, and sure enough, there was Ginny, standing with her hands on her hips. Leanne sauntered over to her. 

'Brayshaw, what do you want?' Ginny asked. 

'I was just curious what you and Draco were talking about,' Leanne purred. 

'None of your business,' Ginny replied, and Leanne's look turned to stone. 

'Listen, Weasley, if you _touch _my man and I find out about it, you're dead meat,' Leanne threatened. 'That's a promise, not a threat so _don't _mistake me, and _don't _take my words lightly,' 

'I'll try to keep that in mind next time I get the urge to strip him naked and have my way with him,' Ginny said sarcastically with no expression on her face. Leanne exploded. 

'This _isn't _a joke, Weasley! You keep your distance from Draco,' She warned. 

'I have no intention of being anywhere near him,' 

'Then why did you come here?' Leanne asked suspiciously. 

'I wouldn't have come if I'd known who had given me that note,' Ginny replied coldly. Leanne didn't seem like she believed Ginny. 

'You expect me to believe that load of bullshit? Who else would want to meet you? You have no real friends, well, except for Orionis, but she's weird,' Leanne said. 

'Don't you _dare _call her weird,' Ginny hissed, still defending Sigma even though she was trying to kill her. 

'I'll call her what I like,' Leanne said, cocking her head arrogantly. 

'Don't attack my friend behind her back, I would have thought you more decent than that,' Ginny said. 

'You were quite mistaken when you thought that,' Leanne replied icily. 

'What do you want from me anyway?' Ginny asked. Leanne frowned. 

'I thought I made that clear? Stay - away - from - Draco,' 

'Is that all? Because, that's rather pathetic, even for a Slytherin Slut,' Ginny said calmly, enjoying watching Leanne's face turn from cocky to horrified. 

'At least I'm attractive enough to get guys like Draco, the best you could do is Creevey, and you still haven't managed that!' Leanne lashed out. 

'Is that the best you can do?' Ginny taunted, causing Leanne to anger even more. 

'You just watch your back,' She growled before walking off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

kura52 ~ Yeah, they believe Cassandra about Sigma because firstly, how else would Cassandra know about the gem, and secondly she does make some good points about Sigma, her appearance, and she won't tell them where she's been all this time. Hehehe, yes they kissed, lol. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last one!

****

Darcy16 ~ This chapter was longer! Not by much, but I'm working on it! Thank you for the compliments! I hope you liked reading this chapter. 

****

rose petel ~ I hope this chapter showed you how each character was reacting to Sigma trying to kill them, Ginny and Hermione are trying to keep level heads, but the other three Gryffindor Girls are horrified! I hope you liked this chapter!

****

HarryzBabe ~ Thanks, Cassandra is a whining, annoying person, but she is good to have around, and makes a lot of valid points throughout the story. It's good that you like her, she can be a good person when she wants to. I hope you liked this chapter!


	18. The Fall Of A Comrade

Cast Away

****

Chapter 18 ~ The Fall Of A Comrade

Sigma had fled to the Hogwarts grounds after dinner. She had definitely noticed the looks she was getting, from Hermione, Ginny, Cassandra, Maria and Julia, and even from the Slytherin table. Those looks most certainly all said the same thing; _I know what you're planning, and it ain't pretty_. 

She stood on a small grassy slope and screamed at the sky. 

'Why do this to me?' Sigma yelled, collapsing into a heap on the grass. Struggling to get up, Sigma found that her legs were bound, and felt so stiff, like they hadn't moved in years. She looked around, slightly confused. 

'You're weak, just like I told you that you are,' A cloaked figure emerged from the Forbidden Forest and glided over to where Sigma lay. 

'You're the one who chose me for this task,' Sigma growled in reply. 

'Obviously I made the wrong choice, if I wanted something done, I should have done it myself,' Voldemort said in a low voice. 

'I _told_ you, I _can't_ get the baby, I _can't_ kill them, they _know_ what I'm doing,' 

'I don't care about you killing them anymore, I have no further use for you, I can use this baby to find me the Ministerial Gem, seeing as you have failed countless times,' He threatened her. 

'Maria's giving up her baby for adoption,' Sigma blurted out. 

'Is that so,' He said carelessly. 'Not like she'll get the chance, I won't give her that opportunity,' With those words, he swept across the grounds at lightning speed and into the Entrance Hall. 

Sigma could do nothing, her legs were bound helplessly. All she could think of doing was attempting a Projectile Duplicate. This was an extremely dangerous feat, and if she failed, her life would be that of a ghost. However, if it worked, Sigma would be able to make a twin of herself to go into the Castle after Voldemort, leaving her body lifeless. 

Sigma focussed all her energy into performing this stunt, and hoped that she would pull it off. She had seen this done professionally by one of Voldemort's followers, but had never attempted it for herself, therefore, she was genuinely shocked when it worked.

If felt as though Sigma had left her body, staring at herself through new eyes, free of all blackness. Now she understood why the others suspected her of being a murder, she looked like the part. Realising this wasn't the time to analyse herself, Sigma turned and sprinted back to the Hogwarts Castle. 

~***~

'Maria, don't worry, its barely noticeable,' Julia said, referring to her friends baby. Maria frowned. 

'Of _course_ it's noticeable,' She said haughtily. 'Imagine what people will say when they start to notice,' 

'No need to worry about that,' A cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. Maria, Julia and Cassandra screamed, but were quickly hit with a silencing charm, and a body bind. 'Now,' He said, turning to Maria. 'You can give up your baby the easy way, or the hard way,' 

Maria looked completely terrified, and instinctively put her arms around her stomach and turned around. 

'I take it we'll have to do this the hard way,' 

Maria tried to run, but she was hit with a fully body bind spell, and held up by some other unknown spells. She didn't know what to do, not even knowing who this man was. He walked over, muttered a small spell into his wand, and a small bubble appeared on the end of it. Maria started to cry, knowing what was about to happen. 

Voldemort plunged his wand with the bubble inside Maria's stomach, which would have caused Maria to have spasm's, had she been able to move her body. When the wand was withdrawn, a small foetus was concealed in the bubble. The body bind was removed from Maria with a wave of his wand, and she tried to scream, but found she was still bound by the silencing charm. 

'Thanks for the baby,' He said before once again, turning his wand on Maria. 'Avada Kedavara,'

Maria hit the floor as soon as the green light hit her, fair in the chest. Voldemort cackled before sweeping out of the hallway, and away from Hogwarts. 

~***~

Sigma hurried around the castle in her Projectile Duplicate form, desperately seeking Voldemort before he could get to Maria. _Where are you? WHERE are you?_ She thought frantically. 

Sigma rushed through hallways, popping her head in and out of classrooms, and through any door incase Maria was behind it. All of a sudden, Sigma came to a halt, staring at the horrifying sight which lay before her. 

Maria lay on the floor, dead, with Hermione kneeling beside her, crying. Sigma took a step back, but it was too late, Hermione had seen her. 

__

'You,' She snarled. 'I _knew_ you would do this!' 

'I-I didn't,' Sigma stammered. Hermione got to her feet and strode over to Sigma. 

'What have you done with the baby? It's been extracted from her,' Hermione growled. 

'I don't have any idea what's happened,' Sigma said, taking a quick glance over at Maria. Hermione backed away from her. 

'You'll kill me too, you're going to kill us all, Cassandra overheard you talking to someone in the Gryffindor common room a few nights ago, about killing us, and the Ministerial Gem,' Hermione said, realisation finally dawning upon her that Sigma was capable of anything. Sigma took a step forward. 

'I didn't do this, I swear, how could I?' She said. Staring into Hermione's eyes, Sigma raised her hand and waved it through the solid wall. Hermione's eyes widened. 

'How can you do that?' She asked. 

'I'm really tied up outside on the grounds, I mustered the power to make a Projectile Duplicate of myself,' Sigma explained, but Hermione frowned. 

'That still doesn't change you wanting to kill us, you must have sent someone to do your dirty work,' Hermione spat. 'I'm going to get Professor McGonagall,' She turned and sprinted away. 

~***~

'This is such a nice night, don't you agree, Weasley?' Draco strode over to her, standing near the Quidditch Pitch. Ginny didn't look at him, she simply nodded. 

'What do you want with me, Malfoy, we are no more friends than we were last year, and the year before that, and so on,' Ginny asked finally. 

'Well -' 

'No, I don't want some cock and bull story, I want the _truth_ for a change,' Ginny ordered. Malfoy sighed heavily. 

'Well, it's just that I know how you are treated, you're overlooked by your family, friends, and very undepreciated, it's like that for me as well,' Malfoy said. 

'What if I don't believe you? How do you know all that about my life?' She asked. 

'I just find these things out, listening to conversations at school, from my father, who never speaks to me directly if he can help it,' He explained. 

'That doesn't mean you couldn't be just making this all up, just to get with me or something horrid like that,' Ginny argued. 

'Well, I can't make you believe me,' Draco said. 

'I know that, but why are you being so nice?' 

'Because I understand you, and you understand me, I can see it in your eyes,' 

'I guess we understand eachother then,' Ginny said softly, allowing him to put his arm around her waist, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the stars shine in the night sky. Draco tilted her head up towards his, and was just about to lean in to kiss her when a shrieking voice travelled across the Hogwarts Grounds.

'Ginny!' It was Hermione, rushing frantically at her. 'Ginny!' She screamed more urgently. Ginny and Draco instantly broke apart, looking curiously at Hermione's running form. 

'What is it, Hermione?' Ginny asked. 

'It's Maria!' Hermione gasped for air. Ginny looked concerned. 

'What's Maria? What's happened to her? Is she okay? Is her - er, _friend_ okay?' 

Tears began to well in Hermione's eyes, and Ginny knew that everything wasn't alright. 

'You have to come with me, _right_ _now_,' Hermione said hurriedly. 

'What's happened?' Ginny asked frantically. 

'Maria's been killed! And her friend's been kidnapped,' 

Upon those words, Ginny's heart lept up into her throat and she choked, quickly recovering to run to Maria, leaving Draco alone by the Quidditch Pitch. 

They both sprinted across the grounds and into the Castle, Hermione leading the way to Maria's body. When they arrived, Cassandra and Julia were mourning over their friend. 

'I should never have left her!' Cassandra wailed. 

'Shh, it's okay, it isn't your fault,' Julia said comfortingly. 

'You left her too! _Why_ did we leave her with that man! We could have done something to prevent this from happening!' Cassandra cried. 

'What man?' Hermione asked. Cassandra and Julia looked up from Maria's body. 

'The man who killed her and stole her baby,' Julia answered in a small, shaky voice. Where Maria's stomach used to be, there was a bloody hole, and a mess of scrambled insides. Some blood covered the floor and walls of the hallway. 

'I told you I didn't do it,' Sigma made her Projectile Duplicate come out where they could all see her. Ginny, who hadn't seen the Projectile Duplicate before, jumped. 

'Sigma, your eyes, they aren't black?' She asked curiously. 

'That's because this isn't my real body, that's on the Hogwarts Grounds somewhere, bound,' Sigma told her. Ginny looked a small bit worried. 

'You had something to do with that man, didn't you? He thought that you couldn't do the job he needed done, so he tied you up and did it himself, didn't he?' Ginny accused. To all of their surprises, Sigma nodded. 

'Yep, that's exactly right, the man was Voldemort, and yes, I _did_ go to him when I ran away,' Sigma said. Julia fainted, and Cassandra rose to her full height. 

'I knew you would!' She roared. 'And now because of you, my best friend and her baby are gone!' 

'Now now, Cassandra, settle down, there isn't anything we can do now,' Hermione said rationally. 

'To hell there isn't! I'm going to kill this bitch!' Cassandra screamed, and lunged at Sigma, who didn't move, letting Cassandra fall straight through her and onto the floor. 

'How the…?' Ginny said in amazement. 

'What's going on?' Cassandra demanded from her position on the floor. 

'I'm in a Projectile Duplicate of myself,' Sigma said. 'Meaning I'm like a ghost of myself,' She further explained. 

'Well, where's your real body, so I can kill it!' Cassandra roared, standing up. 

'That's easy, my real body is on the Hogwarts Grounds, quite helpless and bound,' Sigma said, but before Cassandra could rush off, she continued. 'There would be no point in you going after my body, I'm already dead,' 

'Huh?' Ginny said, stunned. 

'What?' Hermione blurted out. 

'How is that possible?' Ginny questioned. 

'This thing I did was an experiment, I have never performed a Projectile Duplicate in my life, and well, to tell you the truth, if failed, and I died,' Sigma told them. 'I'm destined to stay in this form for eternity,' 

'Oh…my…' Hermione stammered. 

'Two people dead in one night?' Cassandra asked, open mouthed. 

'Why would you give up your life to do this experiment?' Ginny asked curiously. 

'Well, simple really, I knew what Voldemort was after, and I was the only one who might be able to stop him, unfortunately I was too late, and I didn't stop to realise that I'd killed myself in my rush to come after Maria,' Sigma explained. 

'Oh dear,' Cassandra said, clapping her hand over her mouth. 

'The question still remains, if you were trying to kill us all, and take Maria's baby, then why try to save her?' Hermione pondered. Sigma's reply was not from her mouth, but from her mind. 

__

I have learnt to accept what I am, a Seer. I was destined to this life by my grandmother, she must have willed me to have these powers, or else I never would have gotten them. My fate was this, I have proven myself worthy of a great afterlife, however, for my wrong-doings, I shall remain on this planet as a lonely spirit for seven centuries. 

'Sigma! I don't understand, you're Muggle born, how can your grandmother be a seer without passing some magical blood through to one of your parents?' Ginny asked. 

'Well, she isn't really my proper Grandmother, she's my father's mother's sister, making her my great aunt, but it's just easier for her to be my grandmother,' Sigma answered. 

'Makes sense,' Hermione said. 

'So you're… dead?' Cassandra said in a small voice, still coming to terms with the fact. Sigma nodded. 

'I think we should have a memorial service, a proper funeral,' Hermione suggested. 

'Good idea,' Ginny agreed. 

'There you go, discussing my funeral already,' Sigma said, rather annoyed. 

'So, you don't care that you're dead?' Cassandra asked. Sigma looked at her. 

'Not really, I'm glad to be free of the life that haunted me,' She replied. 

~***~

Two days in the future, Sigma's memorial service was held, and everyone knew about her untimely death, as well as Maria's. The school had decided to have a two in one service for the girl who died protecting her baby, and the girl who died trying to save them both. 

Dumbledore was on a small podium, saying a few words about both girls when Sigma's Projectile Duplicate/Ghost appeared beside Ginny. 

'Don't cry, Ginny, it was either you or me,' Sigma said softly. 'If I hadn't died that night you know that I would have come after you in my insanity,' Ginny nodded, but the tears continued to stream down her face as she sat in silence listening to Dumbledore's speech. 

'… I now ask Ginny Weasley, best friend of Sigma Prudence Orionis to come forth and say a few words,' Dumbledore stepped down and Ginny walked up to the podium. She had been expecting this. Ginny took a deep breath before beginning. 

'Many of you do not know how much of a dear friend Sigma was to me over the years, she helped me through a lot of tough times, and was there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Now that she is gone, I'm afraid to go back, afraid that the future holds naught but sadness for me,' Ginny paused to wipe a tear away. 'I think you should all know the truth, when Sigma left, she went to Voldemort,' There were some loud murmors through the sea of people. 'She was confused, lost, alone in the world, and was trapped inside herself. All that matters is the end result, she came through, and sacrificed her own life trying to save a life which she knew would be impossible to achieve. This is the attitude that we as a school need to follow in order to achieve our greatest desires, let us remember, Sigma Orionis,' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

****

HarryzBabe ~ Thank you for your review of my last chapter, after this chapter, I can safely say that Sigma isn't going to attempt any more murders… writing this almost made me cry…

****

kura52 ~ Cassandra has a big mouth on her, yes. I managed to squeeze in a scene with Draco and Ginny for you in this chapter, even though it was incredibly sad… I hope you liked it, thank you for your review. 

****

Nichole Malfoy ~ Thank you for your review, yes, I agree, I made Leanne a typical Slytherin character. I had some Draco/Ginny in that chapter, not much, but enough. I assure you that in further chapters, there will be much more D/G.

****

Darcy16 ~ Sorry that this chapter wasn't as long as the last one, but that was the perfect spot to end it, you know? So much happened in this chapter, I actually considered stretching it out over a few chapters, but I decided it would be better all put in one chapter. What did you think?

****

rose petel ~ Yes, Ginny was being rather understanding, but the realisation that her best friend was trying to kill her hadn't sunk in yet. She was still defending Sigma. Now the truth is out… I hope you liked this chapter, don't worry, it isn't the last. 

****

Kelei ~ I bet you didn't see that coming, lol sorry! I hope you liked the unexpected twist that I added in the story… it made me extremely sad to write… well, thanks for your review, and the compliment, the characters will be back on track hopefully soon. 


	19. The Faded Light

Cast Away

~* I know it's been a while, but I had to get settled into school again, and then my Internet was stuffing up, sorry everyone. Here's the next chapter. *~

****

Chapter 19 ~ The Faded Light

Sigma's funeral had been a real eye opener to most people in Hogwarts. There were some who considered her evil and repulsive, but others just thought she was a quite girl who stayed out of trouble. Ginny's confession gave everyone new light on Sigma's character. People passed Ginny in the halls and gave her strange looks, quickly passing her, considering her not one to be associating with. 

Ginny, however, was far too used to being passed over to even give it a second thought. She had gone from quiet and unseen to popular by besting Draco Malfoy, and then to an outcast. People now knew about Maria's death, and those who didn't know, knew that she was carrying a baby, and that it was stolen from her. 

An air of fear hung over the school as students and teachers tried to carry out their duties. So far, nothing was being done about Maria's stolen baby. Dumbledore had known that Voldemort could do nothing with the baby while it was still growing. 

Julia and Cassandra wandered aimlessly around the school, completely placing the blame on Ginny. They blamed her for Maria's untimely death and the horrendous kidnapping which occurred. 

So Ginny fell back to the shadows, no-one noticed her, or worried about her, save one. 

Ginny was up in a small, unused classroom on the second floor at midnight, studying for an upcoming potions quiz, when she felt someone else's presence. At first, she thought it may have been Sigma's Projectile Duplicate, but then she was corrected as the person spoke. 

'What are you doing up so late, Weasley?' Draco Malfoy stepped out into the lantern light. 

'Sorry, I didn't know it was a crime to escape from civilisation,' Ginny replied quickly. He walked around to the other side of the table, pulled over a chair and swung his legs over it, sitting to face Ginny. 

'It's not,' He said. 

'What's that supposed to mean?' 

'That's supposed to mean that I know how you feel, okay?' Draco said haughtily. Ginny looked confused. 

'Look, you have to explain, I can't understand your riddles,' Ginny said. Draco took a deep breath. 

'Long story, do you have time to listen?' He asked solemnly, waiting for a reply. 

'Sure, why not,' Ginny said, putting down her quill. 

'Well, it was a long time ago, when I was four years old. My mother was cooking something that smelt really disgusting … 

__

'Mum, what are you making?' A small four year old Draco Malfoy asked, scrunching his nose. 

'Nothing that concerns you,' Came the reply. 

'It's food, you're cooking, it means that I'm going to have to eat that gross stuff, I don't want to eat that gross stuff!' Draco whined. 

'You'll do as you're told,' His mother scowled. 

'NO!' 

It was at that moment that young Draco realised his mistake, his mother grew suddenly angry, grabbing his tender arm and yanking him towards the oven. Draco screamed openly for his father to help, no such luck. Narcissa Malfoy held him over the oven, finally bringing him down, his stomach burning on the hot plate. A strong aroma of burning flesh was what drove Lucius Malfoy into the kitchen. Immediately seeing the situation, he grabbed young Draco away from Narcissa and locked him in the pantry, leaving him to sob over his aching burns. 

'What were you thinking woman?' Lucius screamed. 

'He annoys me, Lucius, that child has _to go,' Narcissa replied. _

'We're not giving away my son,' Lucius replied, and Draco listened as he heard fist connect with jaw-bone. Narcissa let out an ear-piercing scream. 'Now you know what it feels like!' Roared Lucius. 

Finally, Draco gave in to his subconsciousness from the pain he was receiving from his burns. 

… I woke up in St. Mungos three weeks later,' Draco finished. Ginny looked horrified. 

'How could she do something like that?' Ginny asked. 

'She wasn't all there upstairs, father sent her to councelling but she'll never be quite fine,' Draco said. 

'So, this is why you're such a jerk?' 

'In a sense,' Draco told her. 'I just don't want to ever feel that again, not the burns, but the pain of having a trusted loved one hurt you,' 

'Look, Malfoy… no offence, but I don't want to hear some sob story, I have my own problems to deal with, without having to worry about you as well,' Ginny said. Draco's face turned stone cold. 

'This is what happens when I open up to people, thanks for opening my eyes to how much of a bitch you really are,' He got up and left, leaving Ginny alone. However, she wasn't going to let this be the end of the conversation, leaving all her books and quills, Ginny got up and sprinted after Draco. 

'Malfoy!' She yelled, he didn't stop. 'Stop being such a coward!' This got him to stop. He turned around to face Ginny as she approached him. 'So what, you've had a bad experience, no need to let it affect your whole life,' 

'You're one to talk,' He said sarcastically. 'You haven't been in my situation,' 

'No, I haven't, but that was over ten years ago, move on with your life!' Ginny cried, frustrated. 

'It's easier said than done, okay?' 

'Look, I'm going through a rough time at the moment -' 

'Which is why I thought you'd understand, obviously I was wrong,' Draco said softly. Ginny's eyes immediately lost their fury. 

'I'm sorry, but you have to understand that I'm a bit snappy lately, with the death of my best friend, and now the whole school blaming me for Maria's death, it's just not a good time for me to be worrying about anyone else's problems, especially someone who's hated me for all of my school years just because of my family,' Ginny explained. Draco had nothing. He couldn't find words to say. Ginny sighed and turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm. 

'It seems to me that we have a mutual understanding,' He said, looking into her eyes. 

'And that would be…?' Ginny questioned. Draco leant down to kiss her, but she turned her head and his lips landed on her cheek. He pulled away and looked at her questionably, Ginny avoiding his eyes. 

'What?' 

'The whole school is hounding me already, I don't need to give them another reason to hate me,' She said. 'I can't date the enemy,' Ginny quickly added.

'Fine, your choice, not like the whole school can possibly hate you even more than they already do, but whatever,' Draco said. 

'Don't think of it that way,' Ginny said. 'Think of it as, I'm not attracted to you,' She concluded, and walked off, leaving a very stunned Draco. 

~***~

'Hermione, we can't just leave her to be tortured by the whole school, they all think that Ginny is responsible for Sigma and Maria's deaths, _and_ Maria's baby being stolen, we can't let them keep on believing this,' Harry argued. 

'They have to blame someone, it'll all blow over in time,' Hermione replied. 

'No, Hermione, I don't think _this _will blow over sometime soon,' Ron said. 'She's my sister, I have a responsibility to make sure she's okay,' 

'Hermione, you're telling us that you're prepared to let Ginny deal with the whole school alone?' Harry asked. 

'She's got to learn,' 

'WHY?' Ron exploded. 

'It's not like she's actually _done _anything wrong,' Harry explained. 'All that happened was she told the school the truth about Sigma, and now they probably think she's in with Voldemort,' 

'Which is stupid,' Ron said blankly. 

'She got in cosy with Sigma, that gives her two degrees of seperation from Voldemort, which makes her evil to the school,' Hermione said bluntly. 

'Oh, and I suppose that means I'm Voldemort's right hand man? Seeing as I've been up against him over four times?' Harry said sardonically. 

'And don't forget that you've seen him in flesh too, Hermione,' Ron added. 

'Yes, all well and good, but Sigma was working for him,' Hermione replied. 

'Why do you have to be so cold?' Harry snapped suddenly. 

'He's right you know, just lighten up Hermione, if you won't help us, me and Harry'll do it ourselves,' Ron said. 

~***~

'Dude, I heard that the chick Sigma died, that's not cool, she was a groovy chick,' Hank said to Voldemort, who lifted his hands in exasperation from having to listen to Hank's surfer talk. 

'Wait a minute, she's _dead_? Ah, I had no further use for her anyway,' Voldemort looked over at the small filter tank which held Maria's tiny baby. 

'But dude, you're going to have to wait a hell of a long time til that lil tyke's old enough to go treasure hunting,' Hank replied. 

'When the child is due to be born, I will immediately be able to train it to hunt for the Ministerial Gem,' Voldemort explained. 'After that, it won't do anything else but search for the Gem, for the rest of its life, or until the Gem is recovered.' 

'Woah, sounds like a tough life for junior there,' Hank said with a stunned look on his face. Voldemort stroked his chin. 

'This child will not know a normal life, it will grow to accept its duties,' 

'You didn't have to kill it's momma though,' Hank said sadly. 

'You're not worried about Maria Brently, are you? Because that would be really bad for you,' He threatened. Hank cowered. 

'Sorry boss,' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

~* A little short, and a little late, sorry guys I hope you liked it anyway. *~

****

Tylah ~ Hey, great to have you back, and I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday! It's good that you liked all those new chapters, and I hope you liked this one too! Thanks for your reviews, and I'll be sure to update as soon as my schooling allows it! 

****

HarryzBabe ~ Sorry for the sad chapter, but yeah… I hope you liked this one, and I hope it explained some of what will happen to the baby. There was a big Draco/Ginny scene in there, which didn't really go anywhere, but now they'll start to understand eachother better. I hope you liked this chapter!

****

Rose petel ~ I'm glad you liked that last chapter, and yes it was a very sad one, I even was sad writing it! I hope you had fun reading this one, thanks for your review!

****

Zaptor ~ Hi, nice to see a new reader! Thank you for all those nice things you said about my story, and I'm sorry for the late update. I hope you liked this chapter, and continue to read my story! 

****

Headmaster Cromwell ~ Thanks for the offer, but I don't really like things like that. 

****

Darcy16 ~ Thanks! Sorry this chapter is shorter but I couldn't think of anything more to add to it. I hope this chapter helped clear up some of your questions about Draco, he really is telling the truth. I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can!

****

Kelei ~ You see, Sigma thought she succeed, because it seemed it worked at the time, but really, she only knew that she failed a few minutes after the shock of "succeeding" had settled in. Sorry for the confusion! I hope this chapter helped bring the story back on track to where I was originally going with it, thanks for the hint about that… lol, thanks for reviewing!


	20. Veritaserum

Cast Away

~* Yes I know its been a while since I've updated, sorry everyone. I'll try not to let it happen again! *~

****

Chapter 20 ~ Veritaserum 

Draco paced his dorm room, wondering why Ginny wasn't attracted to him. However, he had more important things to worry about, like his promise to himself. With Maria dead, he couldn't exactly seduce her. This left Ginny. Draco decided that all his energy needed to be focused on her. 

Ginny would not co-operate though. She was going through a rough time and would not be swayed. He needed to do something about it, and soon, because he was running out of time. Draco couldn't afford delays. _Why did Sigma and Maria have to go ahead and die?_ He thought to himself. Although he thought this, a small voice at the back of his head was saying _Don't be so insensitive, be a friend to Ginny now, when she most needs it. _

~***~

Ginny walked through the halls filled with students pointing and whispering about her. She'd long gotten used to this, but it still bothered her that people were so quick to believe the worst about her. She was on her way to Transfiguration which she had to sit through with Julia and Cassandra's death stares. Ginny put her head down and walked a little faster, trying to avoid people's stares.

'Ginny, where are you going?' A voice called out. It was Alistair. He and Colin jogged up to Ginny, and they fell into her pace, walking with her. 

'I'm going to Transfiguration,' She replied to Alistair's question.

'You don't have to sit through that you know, I heard that Julia and Cassandra are not being friendly to you,' Colin said. 

'So, you guys don't blame me for Sigma's and Maria's deaths?' Ginny dared to ask. 

'No, how could it have been your fault? It wasn't your fault that You-Know-Who was after Maria's kid, and Sigma died on her own accord, she knew the dangers of the spell she cast on herself, and she still did it,' Alistair said. 

'That's true, Ginny,' Colin said. 

'Well what am I supposed to do about the rest of the school?' Ginny asked. 

'It'll blow over eventually, all you have to do is wait it out,' Alistair advised. 

'I somehow don't think this will blow over sometime soon,' Ginny sighed and stopped walking. They had passed all the gossiping students and were now in an empty part of the corridor. 

'Well you'll still have us, Ginny,' Colin said with a smile. 

'Thanks,' She replied softly. Just as Alistair was about to say something, Draco walked over. He looked at Ginny, then at Colin and Alistair. 

'We'll just be going now,' Colin said, and quickly bustled Alistair away before Ginny could protest. She turned to Draco. 

'What do you want? Didn't you get the hint?' She said. 

'Oh, I got the hint alright, I was just going to offer to help you out, but seeing as you have those two Gryffindors, I guess I'm not needed,' Draco said, and turned to walk away, but Ginny stopped him. 

'Wait, what do you mean help me out?' She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. 

'Put a stop to some of those nasty rumours going around,' Draco replied, not turning to face her. 

'That's impossible, no one can change people's minds about what they think of me,' Ginny told him. 

'I have a rather large influence over what people think,' Draco replied, walking further down the hall to where the large groups of students were. 

Ginny looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. She walked closer to hear him better. 

'Hey, listen up everyone, you're all giving Ginny credit where credit is undue, there's no way that scrawney, timid little girl could be responsible for two murders and the kidnapping of an unborn baby! You have no right to give her the credit for my doings,' He finished triumphantly. 

'What?' Ginny whispered to herself, unbelieving of what she had just heard. 

'That's right everyone, I was the one going to Voldemort and reporting about Maria and her child, not Sigma, and because of it, Sigma died trying to stand up to me. We can't forget that Maria also died when she could have lived, she made a big deal out of giving up her baby, so she was killed,' Draco continued. By this time, some people were crying, and others were glaring at Draco maliciously. 

'Why is he doing this?' Ginny said to herself out loud. 

'So you all can, you know, give me the credit instead of Ginny Weasley,' Draco finished, and walked away. Ginny sprinted after him and caught him just as he reached the bottom of the stairs into the Entrance Hall. 

'What was that all about?' Ginny cried. 

'Look, you don't want them blaming you, now they're going to blame me,' Draco said, and continued to walk away. Tears welled in Ginny's eyes. 

'That was the nicest thing anyone's done for me since Harry saved me from Tom Riddle,' She said. Draco stopped and turned to face her. 'Why did you do it?' 

'People like you, they don't like me, and the ones who do will probably congratulate me for being responsible, you lost a lot of friends because people thought you were responsible, if people think I'm responsible, they'll simply add another reason to their long lists of why they hate me,' Draco explained. 

'It was un-necessary,' Ginny replied. 

'No, I think it was necessary,' He said. Ginny closed her eyes. 

'Why did you really do it?' She asked, opening her eyes, which were sparkling from tears. Draco looked around the Entrance Hall for an answer, when he found none, he looked into Ginny's eyes. 

'Because I have feelings for you, and I didn't like seeing you hurting,' He said, and this time, nothing could stop him walking away, into the Slytherin Dungeons. 

~***~

Harry, Hermione and Ron were in the Gryffindor Common Room, sitting with Ginny, Alistair and Colin. Julia and Cassandra still refused to go near Ginny. 

'So Malfoy said that, he took all the blame?' Harry asked. 

'That was really sweet of him,' Hermione said. 'But he's still a Malfoy, he's still the same person we know and hate, so now that you've thanked him, stay right away from him,' She quickly added. 

'I know who he is, but why would he do something like that for me unless he had an alternative motive?' Ginny said. 

'Maybe he wants to get you in bed?' Harry suggested. 

'Oh you are definitely staying away from him now, Ginny! I'm going to have words with him,' Ron said dangerously. 

'Ron! Don't tell me how to live my life, stop being like a brother and start being a friend,' Ginny retaliated. 

'Look, Ginny, do what you like, okay? I've given up trying to care about whether or not Malfoy hurts you,' Ron said, and walked out of the room. 

'That was rude,' Ginny snorted. Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. 

'He's right you know,' Harry said. 

'Every time he tries to help you, you push him away further,' Hermione finished. 

'Oh so this is my fault? It's always my fault,' Ginny cried. 

'Stop being such a pecimist, Ginny, we're here to help you, but what are we supposed to do when you don't listen to what we say?' Harry exclaimed. 

'I don't know, and I don't care, but I don't want you to tell me who I can and can't see in my own time,' Ginny said, becoming steadily angrier. 

'Maybe so, just as long as those people aren't Draco Malfoy! Honestly Ginny, we've known him since we've been at Hogwarts, he's a snake,' Hermione told her. 

'Well maybe you just don't know the real Draco Malfoy,' Ginny pouted.

'Maybe we don't want to know anything more about him than we already do, which is enough to make anyone sick to the stomach,' Harry snorted. 

'Oh come off it, it's your own fault that Draco hates you!' Ginny yelled at Harry. 'You had the chance to be his friend, yet you turned it down,' 

'For good reason,' Harry retorted. 

'You have no idea what kind of person he is,' Ginny cried. 

'And I suppose you do?' Hermione interrupted. 

'Suppose he's feeding you lies just to get something more from you?' Harry wondered aloud. 

'He wouldn't do that,' Ginny said firmly. 

'I wouldn't put it past him,' Hermione said. Harry nodded in agreement. Ginny let out a cry of protest. 

'You two should be more forgiving and accepting,' She said angrily. 

'Now, now, this is no reason to get in fights,' Alistair interrupted. 'Draco Malfoy is a friend of Ginny's, let's just leave it at that, okay?' 

'Thanks, Alistair, at least _you_ understand,' Ginny smiled smugly. 

'I'm not saying I support the idea of you hanging around Malfoy, but there's no telling you otherwise, you're a free person, free to be friends with whom ever you please,' Alistair told her. Hermione made a protesting grunt and folded her arms across her chest. 

'Don't you expect us to be here to pick up the pieces when Malfoy leaves you out in the cold,' She said harshly, and stalked up the girls staircase. Harry ran his hands through his hair. 

'All this is becoming too much of a nuisance to handle,' He sighed heavily. 

'Oh sod off, Harry,' Ginny said. 'It's really none of your business anyway,' 

'Fine then,' Harry replied, and went after Ron. 

Ginny turned to Alistair and Colin, giving them looks of gratitude. 

'Thanks for that guys, I appreciate it, now don't tell those three meddling imbeciles, but I'm just going to pop out and see Draco,' Ginny said, and left the Gryffindor Common Room, but not before giving the two boys a gratifying smile. 

~***~

'Now, put the foetus in this tank, and it will cause it to grow at ten times the rate of the usual time it takes to grow,' The dark lord hissed at Hank. Hank followed out the orders obediently. 

'How's that, sire?' Hank asked when he'd positioned the unborn baby in the middle of the tank. 

'Good, very good, this baby should be fully grown in a few weeks,' Voldemort said, with an evil cackle. 

'I don't see how you're going to make it follow orders while it's still an itty bitty baby,' Hank asked. 

'Ah, but you see, by that time, I shall have a big enough device to make the child grow faster,' He replied. 

'That could be dangerous,' Hank objected. 

'Don't argue with me, I do not care for this baby's well being, all I care about is that it gets me that gem!' Voldemort's anger channelled into a bolt of bright light and smashed into the far wall, causing a rather large crater. Hank gulped. 

~***~

Harry found Ron in the library. He was reading a book, _101 Spells for Obedience by Kasta Kurse. _Ron was turning the pages rather roughly, and skimming through most of it in a blind rage. Harry walked over to him and sat opposite to Ron, who still hadn't noticed his presence. 

'Ron, mate, if you do any more damage to that book you may find yourself paying for it,' Harry eyed the rip in the page. Ron looked up abruptly, noticing Harry was there. He then looked back down at the page and noticed the rip for the first time. 

'Oops, don't suppose Madam Pince will notice?' He said goofily. 

'You don't have to pretend things are okay, Ginny's being a downright stroppy cow if you ask me,' Harry said. 

'You're damn right she is! Who is she to be hanging around Malfoy! Our sworn enemy! I swear she's doing it to get back at me, next thing you know she'll be all shacked up with him and they'll be the most well-known, hated couple in Hogwarts!' Ron exploded. Harry was silent, and a bit blown away for a second, but he regained himself and replied. 

'Look, Ron, I don't know what's gotten into Ginny, she used to hate Malfoy, along with all other Slytherins, but people change you know, maybe Ginny's just going through a phase?' 

'I don't care what it is, I want her away from Malfoy!' Ron said.

'She'll learn, let her learn from her mistakes, she'll come back to her old self eventually when she realises that we were right all along and Malfoy is a twit,' Harry said calmly. 

'I don't want her to learn the hard way, she's better than that,' Ron muttered. 

'Well she won't co-operate, so you don't have a choice, one way or another, Ginny _will _go and see Malfoy the instant your back is turned,' Harry explained. 

'She won't be able to if I lock her up, or place an Obedience Spell on her,' Ron indicated to the book he was reading. 

'Oh come now, you don't want to be her jail guard, and you most certainly don't want to be the person on the end of the dogs leash,' Harry said, with creative use of metaphors. 

'I will be her jail guard, and I will be the person on the end of the dogs leash if it will keep my little sister away from that creep,' Ron growled. 

'I don't want her near him as much as you don't, but how else will she learn?' Harry explained. 'This experience will make her less trusting of guys,' 

'I'm all up for her to have that experience, just _not_ with Malfoy! Anyone else but him!' Ron cried. 'Why can't she see him for the idiot he is?' 

'Because she's being stubborn, and the more we push it, the more stubborn she will be, and the more likely she will run to Malfoy,' Harry said. 'And the more Malfoy gets of Ginny, the worse he is to us, so play it cool and leave her alone about Malfoy,' 

'Fine, I'll leave her alone, but I'll be right there when he throws her out saying "I told you so",' 

~***~

Ginny slipped along the dark corridors, avoiding the lights which shone in through the windows casting dancing shadows on the walls. She knew that she shouldn't be out this late, and would most certainly be in a lot of trouble if she was caught. This didn't matter, because she had to see Draco, and show him how grateful she was for him taking the blame. 

Ginny knew that Draco was always in his small study late at night without fail, so she knew exactly where to find him. 

~***~

Draco sat down, he knew that he would be in there for a while, waiting for someone to come and visit him. A few girls knew about his secret study, Ginny included. He only hoped it would be Ginny to come visiting tonight. There were spells placed around the room by Draco, that people couldn't find the room while more than one person occupied it. This way, there would be no interruptions, and no one would walk into an awkward situation. 

There was a creak on one of the far doors, and Draco snapped his head over to see who entered. Leanne Brayshaw wandered over in her famous skimpy pyjamas. Draco sighed, he was in for a long night. 

'Hi Draco,' Leanne said as she walked over and sat on the desk, crossing one leg over the other. 

'Hi Leanne,' Draco replied automatically. 'What are you doing here?' 

'Isn't it obvious?' Leanne faked a hurt look. Draco looked at her blankly. 

'No, care to share?' 

'Well, I heard about what you did for that Weasley girl, and I must say that it was really bad,' Leanne said. 

'What?' 

'You see, when word gets around, people are going to be asking a lot of questions, you're not safe,' Leanne told him. 

'Oh who cares, it got Ginny off the hook and that's the main thing,' Draco retorted. Leanne was shocked. 

'What?' She cried shrilly. 'Why would you want to get her off the hook?' 

'Don't ask questions,' He replied coldly. 

'I have a right to know, you're letting her get away Scott Free, while you take all the blame, and she doesn't even care!' Leanne cried. 

'She cares,' Draco said, more to himself than to Leanne. 

'No she doesn't, if she cared she would have come here by now to see you,' Leanne told him. 

'You're wrong, Leanne, now I want you to leave,' Draco growled roughly, glaring at the small Slytherin. 

'Admit it, Draco, there's no room in her life for you,' Leanne continued. 'She's got her Gryffindor friends who are telling her to keep away from you, and guess what, she's listening to them!' 

'Go away, go bother someone who has time for the likes of you,' Draco growled maliciously. 

'Try putting some effort into people of your own kind, Slytherins, there's no room for a Slytherin like you in the heart of a Gryffindor,' Leanne advised. 

'Look, Leanne, I don't care what you have to say, just get lost,' Draco yelled. 

'You need some stress relief,' Leanne jumped down from her position on the desk and walked around to the back of the chair that Draco was sitting on. She began giving Draco's shoulders a sensual massage. 

'I don't recall asking you to do that,' Draco said, shoving her off and standing up. He turned around to face her. 

'You can't spend your Hogwarts days wondering when that little tramp will come for you,' Leanne laughed. 

'Don't you dare talk about her like that, you're worse than Ginny, at least she's not here trying to seduce me when I clearly don't want her,' Draco growled. 

'See, I _knew_ you didn't want her,' Leanne smiled gleefully. 

'No you imbecile, I was referring to you!' Draco roared, shutting Leanne up completely. 

'Look, I'll reason with you,' Leanne said somewhat coldly, folding her arms over her chest. 'You have a choice, you can either have that little Gryffindor of whom you've been enemies with her and everyone she's associated with for years, or you can have me, popular, and a Slytherin, your own kind,' 

'You make me sick, you should be making _yourself _sick! The way you slut around like you can have any and every guy you want just makes me want to throw up,' Draco spat. 'You're like a well trained dog, you'd do anything I told you to do,' 

'I find that offensive,' 

'That's a surprise,' Draco chuckled. 

'So I take it you choose someone who you will never be accepted with, no Gryffindor will greet you with open arms and welcome you into Ginny Weasley's life,' Leanne said bitterly. 

'And with you they'll think that we deserve eachother?' Draco mocked. Leanne leaned forward and whispered into his ear. 

'Not only that we deserve eachother, but that we _belong _together,' She said seductively. Draco pushed Leanne away and sneered at her.

'We belong together like a bird belongs with a fish,' Draco said harshly. 

'You and Weasley are less suited for eachother,' 

'Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot be in a relationship with? Besides, I have no clue where this relationship with Ginny is going, which is the excitement of it,' 

'You want a surprise relationship huh? You want the Gryffindor because she's not only _playing_ hard to get, but she _is _hard to get,' Leanne questioned. 

'That's right, she's a challenge,' He replied. 'And she's a really nice, well spirited person,' 

'I don't think that's what you're looking for in a girl,' 

'Who are you to judge what I'm looking for in a girl? You seem to be putting words into my mouth, Leanne, and I don't appreciate it one bit, now are you leaving or not?' Draco hissed. 

'Not just yet, I'm just trying to make you realise that a relationship between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin is not possible,' Leanne told him. 

'Now that just makes me even more determined to make things between me and Ginny happen, to prove you wrong,' Draco smirked. 

'Whatever, Malfoy, good luck,' Leanne said, finally turning and leaving the study. 

~***~

Ginny had been searching for Draco's study for half an hour with no luck. She knew it was around this area somewhere, and she had a feeling that there was some sort of magic preventing her from finding it. However, a few seconds before Ginny was about to accept defeat and go back to the Gryffindor tower, a door opened up to Draco's study. Ginny slipped through the door and met a frustrated Draco. 

'Why is it that I haven't been able to find this place?' Ginny asked as she entered. Draco spun around to face her, clearly surprised to see her. 

'Oh, er that's nothing, just a few spells I cast that no two people can visit at the same time,' Draco replied.

'Who was here?' Ginny asked. 

'Just Leanne, no one important,' Draco shook it off, as if he was trying to avoid talking about her. Ginny sensed this and pushed the issue. 

'What was she doing here?' 

'She just wanted to convince me that I should be with her,' Draco replied truthfully. 

'And what was your reply to that?' Ginny asked. 

'Absolutely not, I would rather be with a banshee,' Draco told her. Ginny felt some relief, but she was unsure whether or not to believe him. 

'So anyway, I came by to thank you for what you did for me today, that was really sweet of you,' Ginny said, taking one step closer to him. Draco eyed her as if she were about to attack. 

'You already thanked me,' Draco responded. Ginny took no notice of his words. 

'I remember you saying that you have feelings for me, were you just saying that to get me off your back, or were you being truthful?' Ginny asked. 

'I'm not sure, it's rather messed up at the moment,' Draco said shakily. 

'Well, there's only one way to find out,' Ginny smiled and pulled out a small vial of Veritaserum. Draco's eyes widened. 

'Where did you get that? Snape will murder you if he finds out you've taken it!' Draco cried. 

'Maybe, but he won't find out I took it, unless of course, you tell him,' Ginny said. 'And I don't think you'll tell him,' 

'No, I won't,' Draco told her. 

'Now, drink it, and I'm going to ask you a few questions,' Ginny ordered. 

'Wait just a minute, I don't entirely trust that you won't ask something too personal and embarrassing,' Draco eyed her suspiciously. 

'You have my word that I won't ask anything personal or embarrassing, I just want to get to the bottom of how you really feel about me,' Ginny explained. 

'Fine, just no personal questions or I will turn my back on you completely and forget about this whole ordeal,' Draco warned. Ginny nodded and handed him the vial which he took a small sip of. 

'Okay, let's test it, what's you middle name?' Ginny said. 

'Lucius,' Draco replied. 

'Fair enough, now, how do you feel about me?' Ginny continued. Draco creased his brow for a few moments before answering. 

'I feel that there's something inside, a spark when I see you, it's hard to explain, but I know that there's mixed emotions wherever you're involved,' He said. Ginny's eyes darted around the room and she bit her lip before giving Draco a small smile. 

'So what made you feel that way about me?' 

'Things have been tough for me, and when I found out that you'd been treated somewhat the same as me, I just felt this connection towards you, like we were supposed to be together,' Draco replied. 

'Okay, what do you plan to do about all the Gryffindors and Slytherins who would be rather nasty towards any relationship that we could be in?' 

'Laugh at them for not appreciating that people from two different worlds can set aside their differences and become involved,' Draco told her. Ginny was lost for words, all her questions were answered truthfully with more compassion that she could have hoped for. 

'I'm going to go to bed now, I need some time to think things over,' Ginny said, and walked out of Draco's study. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

~* I was going to write more, but I figured that I have kept you waiting long enough for this chapter that I'd better post it and save the next part for the next chapter! *~ 

****

Rose Petel ~ Why do you feel sorry for Hank? He's not meant to be a character pitied. Could you please tell me how I've made that mistake and let me know any suggestions to change his character around so that he's un-pitied! I would appreciate that! Thanks!

****

HarryzBabe ~ I hope you liked the scenes between Draco and Ginny, even though there was no romance in there… don't worry, there will be some romance blossoming quite soon, seeing as I really don't have much other plots happening at the moment. I'm glad to finally get this chapter out, sorry about the delays!

****

Alina11 ~ Thank you for your compliments! Don't worry, Maria's baby will be found, but not as soon as people would like. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and continue to read and review!

****

Cherrie Berry Draco Luver ~ Wow! That's the first poem I've had in a review! Thank you! I'm really sorry that I couldn't get this up faster, and I'm not going to bother with excuses because I probably don't have a good enough one! Sorry! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I took your advice and used what I had, things just came to me and I was able to write a decent length chapter. 

****

SarkLover ~ I'm glad you like it, and good to see someone new reading! It's always good to see new people who post reviews! I'm sorry for the wait, and I hope that it was well worth it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and continue to read and review. 

****

Darcy16 ~ Yes, Draco is telling the truth with what he's been saying. He is one confused little boy! This long chapter cancels out the shortness of the last one … hopefully! Hehehe. Did you like this chapter? I hope so! Thanks for your review, look forward to reading your next one!

****

Tylah ~ It's good to have you back reading again! I missed your reviews while you were away! I'm glad that you're liking the story again, I was afraid that it had changed too much that you would wonder what the hell happened! Thank you for your review, and don't worry, everything will turn out okay for Maria's baby in the end.

****

deity of death1 ~ Ginny was in a lot of trouble, as you could probably tell, but Draco fished her out and now he's taking the fall for Maria's and Sigma's deaths! Don't you think that was sweet of him? It shows Draco's emotional side, and that he knows exactly how Ginny feels. Thanks for your review and I hope you continue reading and reviewing!

****

kura52 ~ Hi how have you been doing? Good I hope! I'm sorry about the lateness of this chapter, and I hope that you thought it was worth the wait! Ginny and Draco will be together, actually pretty soon now, but I just wanted to make it out like there was some sort of resistance, or it would seem "too easy". As for Hermione, she has her good and bad sides, right now, she believes that it's Ginny's fault for the deaths of Sigma and Maria, and the kidnapping of Maria's baby. Well there has to be someone who still believes it! Even after what Draco said. 

****

Kelei ~ Yes there will be a Draco/Ginny relationship forming quite soon! Hank is there as the annoying side kick, kind of a replacement for Wormtail as he's been up-graded (never mentioned in my story, but you kind of assume that anyway). Hermione is the way she is because she believes the facts, and there are definitely some strong arrows pointing to Ginny being the cause of these things. For example, she could have helped Sigma, then chickened out at the last minute and killed her. There's endless possibilities. I hope you liked this chapter and I look forward to reading your review!

****

merlinsmagic ~ Thank you for your review, and I'm glad you like the plot! Hermione is the one who goes by what she can piece together from evidence, and right now there's some strong evidence against Ginny. Therefore she believes that Ginny is truly responsible… guilty until proven innocent, right? I hope you continue to read and review!

****

Zaptor ~ Draco's idea was not to make Ginny feel better by telling her the things about his past, but to make her trust him, and realise that they are in the same boat. As for your other question, Sigma will be around, she is in the form of a ghost yes, so occasionally she will pop up. I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for the review. 


	21. Lies

Cast Away 

- Yes I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry! I hope you can all forgive me for not updating sooner! -

Chapter 21 – Lies 

Draco smirked as he watched Ginny's retreating figure. He had figured she would use Veritaserum, so he had taken the antidote before she had come to find him. He relaxed back on his armchair and sighed in amusement of his own con. Now Ginny really thought he was in love with her.

_And why shouldn't she? The dumb Weasley probably doesn't even know an antidote exists for Veritaserum! _Draco thought to himself. He laughed.

'What's so funny?'

Draco looked over to where the voice had come from. It was Leanne. Draco immediately scowled.

'I thought I made myself clear already, Leanne, I don't want you.' Draco said slowly, his voice getting more and more impatient with the said girl.

'What's so funny?' She repeated, leaning against the door frame.

'Nothing of your concern, just a little joke Weasley told me.' Draco replied.

--

Ginny walked back to the Gryffindor common room with her heartbeat steadily growing faster. Draco loved her. She didn't know why, and she didn't care, he loved her! She couldn't hide the grin, which exploded, onto her face.

'Ginny, you look happy.' A disembodied voice said. Ginny stopped, the smile gone from her face. When she could see no one, her expression turned to confusion.

'Huh? Who's there?'

'Ginny, it's me, don't you recognize my voice?'

'Sigma? Where?' Ginny asked. Sigma stepped through the solid wall. Ginny's smile returned to her face. 'It's so good to see you again,'

'Yes.' Sigma said. 'So why are you grinning like there's no tomorrow?'

'No reason.' Ginny said. Sigma didn't look convinced. She blew a strand of dirty blonde hair from her face. 'Alright, Draco just said he loves me.'

'Are you serious? Do you really trust that boy?' Sigma challenged.

'He was under Veritaserum.' Ginny stated.

'Oh, I see, but you know, there is an antidote for that,' Sigma said, leaving her sentence up in the air.'

'He didn't take it, how could he have possibly known I was going to bring Veritaserum tonight?' Ginny said, seeming sure of herself.

'You're probably right,' Sigma said, a concerned, unconvinced look on her face.

'I have to go to the Gryffindor common room now, before a teacher catches me out of bed at this hour!' Ginny said, sad to say goodbye to her friend.

'It was nice catching up with you again, Ginny. But you should know that I only dare show myself at nighttime. Can't risk some students seeing me,' Sigma said. 'So if you ever want to talk, just come out at night and I'll most probably find you.'

'Goodbye my friend.' Ginny said, and Sigma disappeared through the wall.

--

The next morning, Hermione was on her way to Potions, when she was pulled into a nearby, empty classroom, hand over her mouth preventing her from screaming.

When she was turned around to face the person who had dragged her into the classroom, she immediately bit his hand.

'Ouch,' Draco said, shaking his hand vigorously. Hermione turned to leave, but Draco grabbed her forcefully by the arm. She spun around and glared right into his eyes.

'Look, Malfoy, I don't want anything to do with you right now,'

'This has nothing to do with me and you, this has to do with Weasley.'

'Ron?'

'No, Ginny.' Hermione looked a little shocked to hear Draco call Ginny by her first name, but nevertheless, she didn't show it.

'What about Ginny?' Hermione asked.

'Pretty soon, we will be together, and I want you and your little dream team to stay out of our way.'

'No bloody way Malfoy! There's no way Ginny would get herself mixed up with the likes of you.' Hermione screeched.

'Oh how wrong you are, Granger.' Malfoy smirked.

'What makes you think you can have Ginny?'

'I can have anyone who is willing to have me.' Draco replied.

'But Ginny is _not _willing to have you!' Hermione said, so determined to prove him wrong.

'Don't interfere.' Draco said, and he walked out of the classroom, leaving Hermione flabbergasted.

--

That night, after dinner, Ginny waited behind. She wanted to catch Draco and tell him that she would love to be with him. When the crowd thinned out, Ginny spotted Draco, alone at the Slytherin table. She smiled, and walked over to him, taking the seat next to him.

'Hey,' Ginny said. Draco turned to look at her.

'Hi.' He replied.

'So I was thinking about what you said to me last night, and it must have been true because you said it under Veritaserum.' Ginny began.

'Go on.' Draco urged.

'Well, I was thinking that it would be great if we could be together.' Ginny finished rather lamely. Draco's face broke out into a smile, which made Ginny smile.

'Come on.' He got up and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the Great Hall, and down through the Slytherin Dungeons.

'Where are we going?' Ginny asked.

'On Thursday nights, every Slytherin goes to a room behind a black and purple tapestry for a raging party, where everyone gets drunk and hooks up with people.' Draco explained. 'We'll have the Slytherin common room all to ourselves.' Ginny's eyes widened. She was not yet ready to be in the Slytherin common room, alone with Draco. 'Don't you trust me?' He asked. Ginny nodded in response.

They arrived at the Slytherin entrance, and Draco spoke the password, letting them in. He immediately walked over to the couch and sat down in a comfortable, lazy position. Draco motioned for Ginny to join him, and she walked over cautiously.

'You're sure there's no one here?' Ginny asked timidly.

'You're so Gryffindor, now come here.'

Ginny reached the couch and Draco grabbed her waist, pulling her down to press against him. Their lips were inches away from touching. For a few moments, they both stayed there, looking into each others eyes, until Draco grabbed her by the back of her neck and pushed her lips against his forcefully.

Ginny's entire body went weak as his tongue trailed over her lips. His hands moved from the back of her neck down to the small of her back, and around the front. Every fiber in Ginny's brain was screaming at her to stop, but she didn't want to. Draco's hands reached the button on her jeans, and that was the final straw.

Ginny sat up and held Draco down with her hand on his chest.

'What's wrong?' Draco asked.

'Too fast.' Ginny said. 'I don't think we should do anything more tonight.' Draco managed to hide his disappointment incredibly well as Ginny got up and straightened out her clothes and hair. He stood up to face her, and grabbed her waist gently.

Draco leaned down and kissed her once more before she left him alone.

'_Dammit!_' He yelled and kicked the lounge.

-----------------------------------------

- Sorry for ending it there, but I wanted to give you guys something! -

**memememememe – **Sorry that you think the characters are OC, but I can't really have it so that all the characters are in character, otherwise it would be just like the books!

**Luna Gypsy – **Sorry for making you wait for this chapter! I hope you liked it, even though it is short. I should have the next one up soon.

**Luza – **Isn't that the point of fanfiction? To make stories that you would have never thought would happen to those people? I'm glad you like my story!

**Rose Petal – **Yes, Hank is an idiot, but you never know what's going to happen with him! To answer your other question, yes Draco really did drink the Veritaserum but he wasn't affected by it because he had already drunk the antidote! Clever Draco.

**choowee – **Thank you for the compliment! I hope you liked this chapter; sorry it's so short!

**Death of Roses – **Sorry for taking so long to update again! Thanks for the poem =) I hope you liked this chapter, even though it's really short. But I just thought I'd update with something as soon as possible!

**Tylah - **Sorry for making you wait for this chapter! Yes, Leanne is made so that people will hate her!

**Ice Lullaby – **Well there's you DG action! Sorry it's not much but there will be more to come in future chapters, so don't worry! Yeah, it was a shame about Sigma and Maria, but it had to happen! Besides, Sigma will pop up occasionally, remember, she's still a "ghost".

**SarkLover – **I'm glad I made your day better! Well, Ginny did "come to her senses" and she did find Draco, but he wasn't being honest when he told her how he feels, so that's a major obstacle.

**Nichole Malfoy – **Glad you like Draco's middle name being Lucius, to be honest, I couldn't really think of anything else to have as his middle name, so I just picked that! I don't know about the eyebrow raising thing when they're under Veritaserum, sorry.

**kura52 – **Hey, I'm good! I'm glad you read my fiction first! Sorry about the wait on this chapter, and that it is so short… hopefully the next one will be longer! I just wanted to post something before you guys all got cranky at me, even more so!

**Kelei – **I'm glad you like the chapter! And yes, the DG thing will definitely happen, but it won't be genuine, well, not to Draco anyway! He's still going on his own bet to get Ginny in bed. Actually, you might be right, I have changed Ginny's character throughout this fiction, but she's just grown as a person.

**Darcy16 – **It looks like I'm having a pattern, long chapter, short chapter, long chapter, short chapter! Sorry about this one's length, but I wanted to post it asap. I hope you liked this chapter and the next one shouldn't be far away!

**Zaptor – **Sorry once again for the wait on this chapter! I hope you didn't have to go back over the story and read it again to catch up! Hank is a wizard, and he's kinda replaced Wormtail, but he's not as evil as you may think.


End file.
